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Article: Why house prices jam; Britain's housing market is secretive. That hurts the economy. The secrecy could easily be changed. (editorial)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- May 27, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Why house prices jam
Britain's housing market is secretive. That hurts the economy. The secrecy could easily be changed
THE muddiest market in the British economy is the one in which most people make their biggest purchase. The lack of information on the British housing market hurts every house-buyer, the economy and the property business. It could be cured by a simple American-style reform.
Try, as naive Americans do, asking a British estate agent how much some typical houses in the area have recently sold for. "I can't tell you that," is the agent's reply, as though you had asked his wife's age. This week a survey by the Royal Institution of ...