Speaking last week at the HSBC Great Housing Debate in London Terrington said: “Politicians are addicted to the Help to Buy scheme but at what point will they be held to account for inducing high risk conducts such as high LTV mortgages?”
Kate Barker, renowned UK housing economist and author of the 2004 Barker Review of Housing Supply, agreed Help to Buy should be phased out and called for the Right to Buy incentive announced by the Conservatives to force Housing Associations to sell to tenants should be scrapped.
She added that the central problem facing government is that everyone agrees new homes are needed but no one wants them where they live.
She said: “With such strong local views the most effective way to get results would be a sub-regional approach, removing some powers from local authorities.”
Adrian Gill, executive director of estate agency at LSL Property Services, called on the government to build more garden cities but acknowledged this “would fail to produce the number of homes needed”.
He added: “The stance that building more homes is often locally unpalatable but I anticipate a lack of political will to tackle the issue, as this government will be too distracted by the issues of Europe and Scotland over the next five years.”
