3
Apr
Bank survey hints at credit improvement
The Bank of England's credit conditions survey for the first
quarter has produced suggestions that the availability of secured
finance will soon rise.
A key finding of the survey concerning such funding was that "a
small net balance of lenders was expecting an increase in overall
credit availability over the next three months".
Such a situation could lead to the credit crunch easing and more
mortgages being made available to first-time buyers and buy-to-let
investors.
The chief economist of the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors, Simon Rubinsohn, suggested today that the "low point in
terms of transaction activity has now been seen", adding that low
interest rates and recent house price falls should help
transactions to continue rising.
However, he suggested, this does not mean that the government
should not act to provide more support to the market in order to
help groups such as first-time buyers.
