Can Osborne's housing plans succeed?

Banks, housebuilders and agents are expected to benefit from the government's lending schemes.

Last week I came home to the smell of paint. The source? My husband had been retouching the paintwork, in case we decided to put our house on the market. Like many families with growing children, the big debate in our household is whether to move or improve. For the former, the sticking point is that there is quite simply very little on the market to buy. This sits in stark contrast to 2005, when we bought our house and mortgage approvals averaged 100,000 a month; they are now at just half that level. But this looks set to change. The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborn...