Finance minister to decide how much home buyers can borrow
Friday 12 October 2012
From next year, the finance minister will officially decide the maximum amount people can borrow to buy a house, home affairs minister Liesbeth Spies said in a briefing to parliament.
The aim is to remove uncertainty and improve clarity for home owners, Spies said. An independent body will adjust the levels every year in line with developments in spending power.
At the moment banks determine how much people can borrow, based on calculations made by the family spending institute Nibud. But the financial services watchdog has criticised Nibud for being too lax and told banks they face fines if they lend too much.
Neither banks nor consumers are served by the current situation, Spies said.
House prices
On Thursday, the NVM real estate agents' association published new figures showing house prices are continuing to decline. Compared with 2011, house prices in the third quarter were down 7.5%, the NVM said.
The Financieele Dagblad said on Friday the number of people unable to pay their mortgage has gone up 20% so far this year, and now stands at over 76,000.
Who should decide how much you can borrow to buy a house? Have your say using the comment form below.
© DutchNews.nl
|
home buyers and banks together. not the finance ministry.
but i decode this as significant reduction in transactions next year. Otherwise how doest the decision making fit the finance minister's busy schedule?
By dork | 12 October 2012 8:34 AMGreat idea. NOT!! Considering the finance ministers total failure to address the state of the economy this has got to be the worst idea possible.
By S | 12 October 2012 9:24 AMYes, the government should decide since they also decide how much land is up for sale, how much houses to build etc. THey should be answerable for any huge imbalance of the property market.
By ufo | 12 October 2012 10:21 AMI will only except this if the finance minister is part of the PVV
By phil | 12 October 2012 10:45 AMI don't care who determines how much folks can borrow for a mortgage - I'm just shocked that people cannot figure this out for themselves! what ever happened to ordinary common economic sense? Idiocracy indeed.
By B | 12 October 2012 12:36 PMMarkets have got it wrong in the past but the government getting involved alway spell disaster.
By Peter Alt | 12 October 2012 12:37 PMWe'll get to a stage like the UK where people are in their late 30s before they finally able to secure their own home. There's not enough social housing for the low waged, private housing is in many cases unaffordable even for the high waged. However, the gov has been the brick wall between the health insurers getting their own greedy way and the public being insured at a reasonable cost despite pre-existing conditions - so don't judge until you read the smallprint.
Incidently Phil, I'm glad you're not excepting it (hope you don't accept it either), but in a democracy the majority is represented and the majority didn't want your gloryhunter anywhere near power after his antics last time.
By osita | 12 October 2012 7:39 PMYes, good idea, buy now & lose it all later, BRAVO!
By The visitor | 12 October 2012 8:46 PMThe article isn't clear; the finance ministry will set a single ceiling for all buyers? Make individual decisions for every home buyer? Issue a formula for banks to use?
By Mark Holden | 13 October 2012 3:29 PM