Redrow: Current housing slump unprecedented

The chairman of one of the country's leading propertydevelopers has warned that the downturn of the housing market could be more serious than ever seen before.

Redrow's Alan Bowkett said current conditions could be "more severe" than what was witnessed at the start of the 1990s, reports the Telegraph.

Commenting after a bleak financial report by Redrow, Mr Bowkett spoke of the "unprecedented" scale and speed of the housing market downturn.

He added that there are "significant challenges" facing the market at least in the short-term.

Mr Bowkett also predicted that mortgage availability will remain limited for some time.

"It is our view that there may be no meaningful increase in the availability of finance in the wider mortgage market before 2010," he commented.

Those struggling to find mortgages to fund their property purchase may want to consider self build.

While it was reported earlier this week that those looking for mortgages with high loan-to-value (LTV) ratios have few options available to them, borrowers could find self buildfinance that covers as much as 95 per cent of land costs and building expenses.