Govt calls housing market to arms

Previously a home owner for 18 years or so, my family & I are now renting and have been since early 2008. Business (mortgage brokerage!) is reasonable but by no way are we out of the woods yet..! For the past two years I have kept my business afloat by injecting capital into it, capital generated when we sold the family home. A decision I made but not one that I am extremely proud of nor happy about, other than it enabled us to 'get by'. Now in my early 40's we are again looking to buy 'the family home' again. However, just like the first time buyers, we have no hope at all..! With one son likely to start university in a couple of years and the other just starting his secondary school days, like many other families we are just about managing to keep up with the effects of inlfation etc. Thus saving towards the 10-15% deposit seems like an impossible task...

10or 15 % deposit Adrian ; assuming you are self employed like me ; you will need more than that mate. Unless you can find a 90% deal for self employed applicants that I cant.

The last government had a very workable solution to this in the Mychoice Homebuy lending scheme, they pulled it to redirect the funds to the new build sector but this never really worked. The Government seem to be able to find the funding to prop up the Banks, redirecting some of this and reviving the Mychoice scheme would have a major effect on the housing market and generally stimulating the economy in the process, is this too simple I don’t think so.

As the government has a majority holding in a number of High Street banks, why don't they take the initiative and force the other banks to follow their action? Also, the government is naive if they think that only FTB are experiencing problems.

I is my understanding the Banks are yet again going to benefit by the governments quantitative easing tactics, it would seem beyond reason that do they not understand that it did not work the first time in so far as the mortgage and commercial lending markets did not benefit, it is unlikely to work again but will of course put the Banks in a far better liquidity position with out giving any of the benefits to lending markets, seems obvious where the focus is really aimed.

Jeremy - 90% lending is fine for the self employed (albeit the rates are still far too high!)and this always has been the case. This is of course providing there is a decent enough track record of income to use. Thus I shall need another half decent year to hopefully obtain a reasonable level of funding towards a house. Sadly, unless mortgage funding improves, the deposit will remain the biggest issue for me and many others...

It does not need big meetings of all and sundry to decide what is causing the problems. 1. Lenders require too high a deposits. 2. The FSA are putting the frightners on lenders telling them what deposits they should be asking for.In addition they are trying to dictate affordability.(Read a lot of the comments issued by the FSA as regards this). 3. There have been massive redundancies increasing the numbers of unemployed people 4.Millions of people purchased their homes over the past 40 years plus with only a 5% deposit and they have not all been repossed. Yes you could say 5% was not a lot on house prices then compared to now, but neither were salaries. My wife and I were on £30 per week(between us when we purchased our first house.

I am a Sales Executive working for a National Builder. My problem is not that I have a lack of buyers, but most don't have the high deposits required,and don't have access to 'The bank of Mum and Dad'. We offer shared equity schemes but without a large deposit I can't sell. I want to see the housing market prosper - keep valued tradesmen in jobs and see the Country back on it's feet.