Housing market – a drag on economic recovery

I was interested to read an article in the Times on Saturday regarding the housing market being the cornerstone of the US economy. The article indicated that the US economy would not make a solid recovery until the housing market had stabilised. The Federal reserve chairman said in his eagerly awaited speech on Friday “the housing market has proved a drag on economic recovery.” This accords with my view in relation to the housing market and the UK economy and the urgent need for the Scottish  Government to take urgent action to assist first-time buyers.  This would have a huge benefit for the economy as a whole allowing asset values to stabilise, increasing confidence amongst banks and leading to more general lending to the economy as a whole.