BEWARE: RED DANGER SIGNS FOR HOUSE PRICES

THE Government needs to put a cap on house prices. If they don’t, no one will be able to afford a home — especially not young people who are trying to get on the property ladder. E. E., Essex.

WITHOUT a 100pc mortgage, I wouldn’t have been able to buy my home. It was the mortgages that offered up to 125 pc that were the problem. People need to understand how much they can afford to borrow and stick to it. M. A., Hampshire.

THIS is not the fault of first-time buyers. It is the fault of the banks and mortgage companies, which should not be allowing people to borrow beyond their means. R. V., Somerset.

TOO many people in this country rely on interest-only mortgages, borrowing over 40-year periods, after which they will not be able to pay back the full amount. Then they’ll be unable to take out a mortgage when they are 60.

With prices at eight times the average salary, it’s clear that the whole system is broken. P. B., Leeds.

PEOPLE can value the same property at different prices. At the end of the day, a property is worth only what someone else is willing to pay on that day. D. P., Dumbarton.

BANKS are there to make money. If they offer a mortgage at a particular rate, you can say ‘no’ and shop around. G. H., Edinburgh.

AVARICIOUS banks deliberately force up house prices to maximise their profits. If they increase the amount they lend, it makes higher prices artificially affordable. Only in the housing market is such market manipulation permitted. It’s a true scandal. H. S., Bath.