House prices: rein in rapid pace of inflation, says Taylor Wimpey chief
02-07-2016
Pete Redfern warns UK is in a 'borderline place' as he heads up Labour-backed review of home ownership
Pete Redfern, the chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, was speaking at a press launch for an independent review, backed by the Labour Party, he is leading into the UK's housing market.
Joining him on the review panel are the likes Dame Kate Barker, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee who produced her own review of the housing market a decade ago.
The Guardian cites figures from Labour that claim the "number of young working-class households that own homes has declined by a fifth since David Cameron became prime minister". According to ITV News, the data show that "in 2010, there were 1,623,057 homeowners under the age of 35 [but] that fell to 1,342,814 last year, amounting to an overall decline of 17 per cent".
Redfern is tasked with identifying solutions to address the growing disparity and increase homeownership in a "sustainable" fashion.
Unsurprisingly, he has focused immediately on the rapid pace of house inflation, which a report from Halifax this week put at its fastest rate since July 2014. "If that continues for two, three, four years and beyond, it is an issue," he said.
"We are now in a borderline place. We have to keep this under watch," Redfern continued. "We should not want an environment of rampant house price growth. Both [industry and government] should want a sensible, regulated, but not over-regulated, market."
Redfern has expressed concern at the government's Help to Buy scheme, which was designed to help first-time buyers with a deposit to get on the housing ladder but which critics have argued has merely fuelled demand and price inflation.
He said the government should consider "tapering off" the scheme, which was last year extended again to 2021.