Cameron: We need to unblock the housing market
Prime minister David Cameron summarises the new housing strategy in his speech to the CBI conference:
"One of the markets that is particularly blocked is the housing market.
"The consequence of the credit crunch is that the lenders won't lend, the builders won't build and the buyers won't buy.
"Nobody wants another borrowing boom, but when first time buyers on a good salary can't get a reasonable mortgage the market grinds to a halt.
"And that ricochets round the economy hitting builders, retailers and plumbers alike.
"So this morning the deputy prime minister and I launched a radical new strategy to support new mortgages for up to 100,000 people who would otherwise be locked out of home ownership.
"We're also selling council houses house again and using the money to build more houses, and we're rewriting planning rules so the construction industry can grow while protecting our green belt and National Parks and ensuring sustainable development."
