CML news & views

For the first time in a century, the rate of home-ownership has declined. So, are we at the end of the golden age of home-ownership, as the Chartered Institute of Housing has suggested, or the beginning of an age of aspiration, as the housing minister hopes?

Some recent press coverage has painted an incomplete picture of the pressures on lenders' funding costs. In reality, reported spreads on retail or wholesale funds, or against swap rates, are all pieces of a complex jigsaw, and there is no single benchmark for lenders' costs.

FSA plans could put downward pressure on lending volumes, margins and house prices, Moody's has warned. But in the longer term they could also have a positive impact on credit quality.