Bank wary of house prices overheating

Source: Daily Mail, LondonOct.存倉 19--The Bank of England is 'watching carefully for overheating' in the housing market as prices rise and mortgage lending soars, its chief economist said yesterday.Spencer Dale said 'a healthy housing market is good for [the] economy' and that the Financial Policy Committee will 'monitor' the Government's controversial Help to Buy mortgage scheme.He also said it was 'very unlikely' the Bank will raise interest rates in 2014. The comments, during the Bank's first ever question and answer session on Twitter, came as figures showed mortgage lending has soared to a five-year high.The Council of Mortgage Lenders said pounds sterling 49.3bn of home loans were approved between July and September ? up 17.6pc on the second quarter and up 32pc on the same period last year.It was the highest quarterly figure since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.The housing market has picked up in recent months with the help of state-backed mortgage schemes such as Help 儲存o Buy and Funding for Lending.Office for National Statistics figures this week showed the average house price in the UK rose by 3.8pc in the 12 months to August ? hitting a record high of pounds sterling 247,000. It has fuelled fears that Britain is heading for another housing bubble.Asked about the prospect of another boom and bust in the property market, Dale tweeted: 'A healthy housing market is good for economy. But watching carefully for overheating.'In another tweet, he said: 'FPC will be vigilant to emerging risks, inc. from housing, and has powerful toolkit to apply if it decides necessary.'Dale also played down fears that interest rates will rise next year as the economy picks up pace. The Bank has said interest rates will stay at 0.5pc until unemployment falls to 7pc or lower ? something it does not expect until late 2016.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 Daily Mail (London, ) Visit the Daily Mail (London, ) at .dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉