It would be fab if the Government and our Mayor decided to just make a big switch to that sort of model. Failing that, yes I agree – more council housing and more intermediate housing. The idea that over half of all new housing will be straightforward private housing is nuts.

Council housing was originally intended to offer safety for tennants from the whims of private landlords. Building council houses was not soley intended to house the pooer.

Housing associations should offer an alternative and I have friends who have lived in housing assocs for over a decade, quite securely and without unfair price hikes.

The trouble is is within any industry the more senior managers tend to be older (unsurprisingly). This means that they are more likely to have got on the property ladder before prices trippled. In journalism this manifests itself as a complete focus on house price growth being good. While I can detect a sense of youth discontent about house prices the focus seems to be directed at finding an increasingly desperate ways to get on to the property ladder. People don’t seem to realise that government policy bears a significant level of responsibility for the problem and there seems to be a ‘missing movement’ that could tap into this frustration. For example, I’ve not seen any political party whose highlighted a comittment to stabalising house prices at around 5 times an average persons salary.

This lack of consideration leaves the disenfranchised 20 to 30 somethings in a bit of a quandry? In the absence of representation on a political scale what do you do?

1) Continue to rent in private accomodation – Historically buying property was seen to be a way of putting a bit a way for your old age; after you finished paying off your mortgage you shelter is effectively ‘free’ and so you can focus on paying for other things. Relying on rented accomodation would mean forgoing this goal.

2) Save up and buy a house at current prices – Perhaps a slightly better option than the one above but it still changes the lifetime earning profile of a family. If you don’t get onto the ladder until your mid thirties and never finish paying the mortgage off then your ability to save for a pension is severely circumscribed.

3) Emigrate abroad. Apparently you can buy a nice detached house in California for about $80,000. They have better weather too. Still seems pretty drastic though!

Any other ideas?