‘Disorderly Brexit could cause house-price crash’

THE governor of the Bank of England has warned ministers that house prices could crash by more than a third in the event of a disorderly, no-deal Brexit.

Mark Carney briefed Theresa May and senior ministers on the Bank’s planning for a “cliff-edge” break with the EU at a special Cabinet meeting on Thursday to review the government’s no-deal preparations.

It is understood he warned house prices could fall by up to 35% over three years in a worst-case scenario, as sterling plummeted and the Bank was forced to push up interest rates.

According to reports, he compared the fall-out from such a chaotic departure to the 2008 global financial crash. Ministers were said to have listened in silence as he and Chancellor Philip Hammond spelled out the grim consequences for the economy.