After the slight calm after the storm of the past few weeks that has raged in the waters of the property market (or at least if certain elements of the media are to be believed) there has been further evidence this week that trying to control the elements is a foolhardy past time. After the announcement by Ed (“I love my brother-honest”) Miliband that on coming into the hot seat at Number 10 he would cap energy prices for at least 20 months, the immediate effect was that 2 of the biggest energy companies saw £2 billion wiped off their share price. This is not intended as a lament for those working in an energy company whose pension package may have been affected, but it is a clear illustration that trying to control anything- particularly through artificial measures- always produces a flawed result. As we intimated last week on the blog, the call by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to place a 5% cap (in any one year) on house price rises will not produce the desired result. Capping the housing market -though perhaps well-intentioned-will not keep everything on an even keel, it could in fact drive the property market in the opposite direction (rather like the share price of certain energy companies).
