There is no doubt that the UK public has a long love affair with home ownership, much higher than that of their European counterparts. The issue for the UK has been the close link between the UK property market and the UK economy.
The chancellor now has the unenviable task of balancing the needs of the wider economy with the needs of the UK property market which is so closely linked to the UK economy and interest rates. With interest rates at such historic lows there is a danger of runaway inflation, but making things a little easier for Mr. Darling or his replacement is the tight lending criteria. This should have the effect of keeping house price inflation to a slower and more stainable level during a more organic UK property market recovery.