in the sindo

homes seized as property crisis worsens

this means that some people took out a mortgage that was at the edge of their ability to pay and surely this is indicative of why there's a 'property crisis' in the first place. banks freely dispensing credit and people stretching to take out the largest mortgage possible, both ignoring possible interest rate increases and poo-pooing anyone who pointed this out as a possible problem. both also for some reason assuming that the value of the house wouldn't fall and so their money would be safe. i don't understand why people assume that houses are somehow different to any other manufactured object and are somehow immune to fluctations in price due to changes in supply and demand. the price of a house is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it, rather than by how much the seller thinks a buyer should pay. now it's being blamed on stamp duty as a convienient scapegoat. blind