Cameron Unsettled by Housing in Austerity Offers Aid: Mortgages

U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is taking a leaf from the U.S. playbook in expanding government help to homebuyers to stoke the country’s sagging recovery.

Osborne yesterday pledged 3.5 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) to help buyers of new homes with loans of as much as 20 percent of the property’s value, broadening an existing program beyond first-time purchasers. He also announced a plan to guarantee as much as 130 billion pounds of new mortgages to fuel demand from purchasers with limited cash for a deposit.