Rics: Carney 'could raise capital requirements for banks'
Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said he is "concerned" about the possibility of a UK housing market bubble.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), told the Today programme's Simon Jack that "a shortfall in stock" is behind the recent surge in house prices.
"There really isn't a lot of property out there to buy, so with this increase in demand we're seeing, prices are being driven up," he continued.
Asked about the measures Mr Carney could take in order to stem the current rise in house prices, particularly prominent in London, Mr Rubinsohn stated that the Bank of England governor could increase "capital requirements for banks lending specifically to the residential sector", making it more expensive for the banks to lend, or introduce a "loan-to-value ceiling" in order to stem the current rise in house prices.
First broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Tuesday 10 December 2013.
10 Dec 2013
- From the section Business