The biggest Threat facing the housing market is a further deterioration in the mortgage market, according to Housebuilder’s exclusive SWOT analysis of the industry. The shortage of housing supply is its biggest Strength. <br> <br> A 23 strong panel of industry experts – including Taylor Wimpey chief executive Pete Redfern and Redrow chairman Steve Morgan – contributed to the annual analysis of the state of the industry, listing its Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. And although they voted for a wide range of Strengths and Opportunities, the majority agreed on the main Weakness and Threat – the mortgage market. <br> <br> Of the 23 experts, 16 listed “the restricted mortgage market” as the leading Weakness, with “low levels of transactions” second but a long way behind. Third was the “heavy regulatory burden”. <br> <br> It is a similar story in Threats, with 11 panel members voting “banks further restricting mortgages” as the main Threat, ahead of “falling consumer confidence” and “house price falls”. <br> <br> Interestingly, the Threat of “the localism agenda”, which topped the poll last year, eased into fourth place, as the industry learns to live with the new regime. The Strengths were more even, with “shortage of …