From Leeds to Leicester and Nottingham to Ipswich they have sprung up. Block upon block of new apartments in the centre of town. The acres of timber flooring could surface a medium-sized county. Countless Smeg fridges, Brabantia rubbish bins and Gaggia espresso machines have been harnessed to give the show flats just the right tone. But if Alastair Stewart, a housebuilding analyst with Dresdner Kleinwort, is even half-right, the roof is caving in on this dreamy world of loft-style living. There just aren’t enough affluent young urbanites to buy or rent all this new space without big price falls. Ipswich, bluntly, is not Manhattan.

Patrick Hosking, The Times – 21st February 2008

Moreover, the boom of the past few years has been fuelled not only by reckless bank lending but also by a “conspiracy of acquiescence” between developers and valuers at best and, in many cases, downright fraud. That is likely to make the ensuing bust all the more painful.

Mr Stewart has been bearish about the prospects for apartment valuations and for builders for some time, but now he is being heeded. His report yesterday thumped the shares of Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Bovis and others. Their values are less than a half of what they were a year ago and there could be further falls – full article