The ‘credit crunch’ as viewed by the just-nationalised Bradford & Bingley‘s buy-to-let mortgage company, Mortgage Express (just closed for business) in May, 2008:

[A]s with all ‘big’ stories, the issues are never quite as black or white as they are painted. It’s true that first time buyers are finding it harder than ever to get a mortgage without a reasonable deposit and some homeowners may have seen a certain amount of equity erosion over the last few months, but arguably this will lead to more realistic assessments of both affordability and property value.

And it’s important to remember when faced with gloomy headlines about property price crashes and the return of housing market conditions not seen since the early 90s that, while today’s economy may be experiencing difficulties, its current circumstances are nothing like those that prevailed nearly 20 years ago.

Back then, interest rates were in double figures, unemployment was significantly higher and homeowners were regularly committing more than 60% of their salary to paying their mortgage, compared with around 35% today.

The current mortgage market is in a much more stable condition than it was 15 years ago…

And thankfully:

At a time when the vagaries of the housing market are under even closer scrutiny than usual, buy-to-let landlords have yet again proved themselves resilient to market conditions and dire predictions about the future of property investment…

[W]hatever the financial commentators and amateur economists might say, they are confident, rational and have a commonsense approach to the future of their portfolios.

[Disclosure: I’m irrational and lazy with a Mortgage Express buy-to-let loan]