Stewart Baseley, executive chairman of the HBF said today, " Whilst welcoming any steps aimed at stimulating the housing market, today's announcements are clearly not enough. We have been warning Government for months now of the implications for the wider economy of not taking steps to address the situation in the housing market and the consequences of a lack of wide scale action are now becoming clear. We need coordinated and comprehensive action on three fronts - to encourage mortgage lenders to start lending again (measures such as those announced yesterday by CML); tangible measures to assist beleaguered first time buyers who have all but disappeared from the market, such as a stamp duty holiday / mortgage interest relief / and a Government backed savings scheme; and to see interest rates trending down - including the rates passed on to borrowers." - Ends - Notes to Editors: 1. The Home Builders Federation (HBF) is the principal representative body for private sector home builders and voice of the home building industry in England and Wales. The HBF’s 300 member firms account for some 80% of all new homes built in England and Wales in any one year, and include companies of all sizes, ranging from multi-national, household names including Barratt, Bellway, Bovis, Persimmon, Redrow,Taylor Wimpey, through regionally based businesses to small local companies: www.hbf.co.uk For media enquiries, or to arrange an interview, please contact Steve Turner 020 7960 1606 07919 307 760 steve.turner@hbf.co.uk
