Mr. Karl Deeter:

Maybe we should not allow home ownership. Most people who build wealth do it through their homes. Yes, we do have a big mortgage arrears crisis. It does not represent the majority of mortgages and it certainly does not represent the majority of houses. Just because there have been problems in one part we should not wreck it for everybody else who has not had those problems. There are other ways to achieve better outcomes, even on the vista of existing lending, which is responsible and prudent lending. It is being well underwritten on good collateral with strong criteria. Property is heterogeneous and there will be different valuations on the same street. One house might be done up, one might be a probate sale, one might have an extension. Those factors will always apply. The question is whether the person whose finances on which the loan is secured is a good credit bet because it is underwritten on the borrower’s cash flow. There is only one chance to underwrite the mortgage.