"UK HOUSE PRICES WOULD CRASH?"

UK house prices would crash by a third after chaotic no-deal Brexit. Britain's property market would crash and mortgage rates would spiral in the event of no a chaotic no-deal Brexit, with house prices falling 35 percent over three years, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney told ministers, The Times reported.

Recent signals from Brussels have buoyed hopes that Britain and EU authorities can agree and approve a proper deal before it leaves on March 29, though the sides are still divided on about one fifth of the detail of the deal.

But many business chiefs and investors fear politics could get in the way, thrusting the world fifth largest economy into a ''no-deal'' divorce they say would weaken the West, spook financial markets and clog up the arteries of trade.

As Prime Minister Theresa May tries to clinch a deal with Brussels, she is facing rebels in her Conservative Party who say they will vote down any agreement that fails to deliver a sharp break with the EU.

In a stark warning to the British cabinet, Carney said ministers including May that the impact of no-deal Brexit could be as catastrophic as the 2008 financial crisis, according to The Guardian newspaper.

Carney, whose term of office was this week extended until January 2020 to help smooth the post-Brexit transition, told ministers a chaotic departure would lead to a plunge in sterling that would drive up inflation and interest rates. The Times reported. [Agencies]