"It is important that planning permits, building authorizations and social housing projects are (liberalized) so that the increase in (mortgage) transactions does not lead to a substantial increase in house prices"
- António Horta-Osório, the executive of part state-owned Lloyds Banking Group
Amid growing speculations of a possible housing bubble in the U.K. and the fact the recently launched Help to Buy scheme will fuel its further, António Horta-Osório, from Lloyds Banking Group tried to calm down markets by saying a property bubble may be averted in case the government will boost the supply of new housing. He is known as a strong supporter of the idea that more people should purchase a home, however, he also highlights the problem of limited supply. Earlier, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander U.K., HSBC and Barclays all backed the scheme, which, according to David Cameron, will make the dream of owning a home a reality. Critics, however, are saying these schemes will propel property prices, which already soared in every region of the country for the first time since the depth of financial crisis in 2007.
Also Monday, the EY Item Club said the discussion about housing market is already overheated and said schemes introduced by the government will lead to a stronger housing market. According to their projections, investment in housing will soar 7.5% next year and accelerate to 10% in 2015. If there is a risk of another housing bubble or not, it is a wide discussion, however, in case supply will not be able to keep pace with demand, the housing prices will continue climbing higher.
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