They have Freddie Mac, we have Davie Cam

After the sterling success of the US Government's guarantee of homeowner loans, the UK Government wants to join the party.

What could possibly go wrong?

Oh boy, the usual suspects just love this:

Despite the political emphasis on first-time buyers, the guarantee scheme will be open to everyone, meaning that existing homeowners could use it to trade up to larger properties.
Nonetheless, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has backed the scheme as "good news for home-buyers".

I think they meant "good news for homeowners and mortgage lenders" there. If you want to make houses more affordable for first time buyers, all you have to do is make it cheaper and easier for them to be built (new supply) and more expensive to own-to-rent (freeing up existing holdings). All this will do is artificially hold up headline house prices, benefiting current owners and those who have written mortgage notes against houses.

I see the estimable Mark Wadsworth hasn't yet commented on this: I expect he's probably in surgery to repair a very recently ruptured spleen. I look forward to what he has to say...

Update: Mr. Wadsworth does not disappoint.