When will the credit crunch be over?

In the United Kingdom there have been a range of forecasts on
when the credit crunch will be over. We seem to be a bit behind
of the United States, which apparently is in recession according
to some pundits.

However, Money Marketing has cited Ray Boulger, technical manager
at John Charcol, who says the housing market figures are not that bad
in reality. For March, Boulger noted that the real fall in house
prices was 0.1 per cent according to the Nationwide. However, this
fall was seasonally adjusted to 0.6 per cent.

Perhaps the UK economy will escape a recession but the performance of the
housing market will be key. The government has not helped by increasing
taxes. Housing minister Caroline Flint was photographed with a briefing
document forecasting a 2008 decline of 5 per cent to 10 per cent
at best.

The Bank of England governor Mervyn King has more or less stated
that he will not reduce interest rates in the short term.