Wise words Jenny.

That's all'ish.

This ownership inheritance deal has always been the same so we need a big chance in honesty and information from govt to the people through the press.

It 'aint gonna happen...

ian, watton, UK

Or even imagine what i't's like being a 20-10 !

Excellent article & some intelligent comments by the way.

Maddo, hartlepool, uk

I read that 50% of the voting population is the over 55s, as political parties target those that vote - is it about time all young people voted in order that they be recognised as a sizeable group and then parties would direct their policies towards this group. As the young don't vote they have seen negative policies such as paying for university education and lack of new housing supply.

When i ask my middle aged colleagues how they expect their children to get on the property ladder they all say through inheritance and not through incomes. Unfortunately that will mean that those that are not likely to inherit or be bequeathed property will remain in the property trap if middle aged Britain gets their wish.

Its time for the young to vote on mass and be heard.... it doesn't matter who you vote for because policy will be targeted to those who vote.....

Jenny, London,

A few points In response to Matt from the South-East.

a) You say the point of a property "ladder" is that you start at the bottom and climb it - excellent analogy. Now imagine your ladder is a rope ladder attached to a helicopter. As the helicopter takes off, only those people already on the ladder can climb it, and everyone left on the ground is screwed. So it is with the property market - at current prices, only people who own property (or have guarantors who own property) can afford to buy property. That's not capitalism, that's the feudal system
b) I know several people who've worked their way up from apprentice in my company; they're all much better trained than I am & much better at their jobs I have to admit. But I earn more than all of them thanks having been on the graduate scheme. Fact - big companies treat apprentices like crap
c) What do I do if I can't afford to buy in Clapham OR North Kent OR ANYWHERE in the home counties or within a 200 MILE RADIUS of of my job?

Chris, London, UK

Yeah, it's hard being a "20-20".

Imagine what it's like being a "20-15".

Hannah, Leamington Spa,

I wonder if WRM would welcome a development right next to his home?

Regardless, there are several contributions to our current malaise that he has missed.

The British must learn to live in family apartments as many Europeans do. To do this effectively requires planners to develop whole communities with proper green space and facilities for families. We failed grossly in the 1960's with mono community high rises built on beltway land surrounded by sweeps of empty green scrub and inner city estates impaled on a bed of charmless concrete. However, it should be noted that redevelopments of those self same inner city estates are now proving sought after in cities.

Also, Councils must be braver and use compulsory purchase orders to redevelop derelict and neglected houses. There are many of these in unexpected places, even leafy Islington.

Finally, housebuilders should be held to account fby planners for wasting land. Does anyone use the front gardens on boxy houses?

Kathrin, Edinburgh, Uk

Largely, I agree, though it should be pointed out that middle-order public sector workers are often two-income households. Teachers tend to buy their first house in poor-ish areas that are on their way up; 20 years later, the lawyers have moved in (Harborne in Birmingham is a good example).

Rolf Norfolk, Birmingham,

It is nothing less than astonishing for an intelligent man to ignore the malign effects on human beings of overcrowding, and instead to imply that so-called "nimbys" resist new planning applications out of a wish to keep their own property values high. "Nimbys" have children, who themselves need housing. When "nimbys" die, the chancellor helps himself to 40% of what they leave behind them, so the more their properties are worth, the more their heirs lose on their death. Would that our houses were worth less. According to recent reports in the Times, this country is now four times as crowded as China. The South East is at risk of becoming one extended Barratt home. Our ancient and beautiful countryside is disappearing. Town gardens grow ever smaller. Meanwhile the Labour government has permitted, encouraged, and then sung the praise of massive immigration into this country over the last ten years. The current crisis over housing problems has everything to do with that.

francesca, Oxford, UK

The mass exodus has started already. As a product of good schooling and a comfortable middle class upbringing I could probably be successfully working away in one of the numerous industries the country has to offer. If it were not for the exorbitant prices in the housing market and the everyday cost of living this would probably be so. If you take a good look at countries like France and Italy you will find the expat communities getting younger and younger. Work can be found easily, the quality of life is excellent and with cheap european flights on tap the only hardship involved is learning a foriegn language. If like me you are lucky enough to already own a property in the UK , you can rent it out quite easily and pay for your new rented villa with the profits. I am only 30 yrs old and me and some of my erstwhile friends, have decided to live abroad, work alot less, live alot better and stick a proverbial two fingers up at our rather tedious and expensive country of origin.

Max, Ostuni, Italy

I am young (15) and a Labour party member. Presumably my existance is a mistake (insert irony here).

Ben, York,

I predict a mass exodus amongst 20-somethings leaving university. The world's becoming a smaller place, people are settling down later and a far more aware of what is available to them in other English-speaking countries. If what is available to them affords them a better quality of life, they'll leave.

Graham, Leeds,

Something not quite right here - if the buy to let landlord has priced the first time buyer out of the market, then the failed buyer must pay rent to the landlord. If the rent is not higher than the mortgage, Mr. Landlord is losing money, and can only clear himself if there is a rising rent or a capital gain.
Unless I'm missing something, Mr. Tenant has his lifestyle subsidised by nice Mr. Landlord. Which can only be good for Mr. tenant, who can use his resultant savings to buy the house cheap when the landlord realises it's not worth it.

neil, waterford, ireland

THE RUMBLING VOLCANO

In reading these comments, one cannot help but get the impression that Great Britain today is a quietly rumbling volcano.....waiting to explode!

Hopefully, those responsible ( perhaps irresponsibly?) for managing the current and future destiny of Great Britain will read these many comments....VERY CAREFULLY...so that they will not have to ask, some day in the future, with lame and pleading voices:

"What happened? Where did we go wrong? WHOSE FAULT IS THIS? How could this have happened?"

A. G. Gumbs, Glendale Heights, USA/ IL.

If Rees-Mogg, the British press or the British government ever really want a solution to high house prices, all they have to do is look abroad. Look to Canada or Europe. There are plenty of other countries who manage to provide their citizens with good quality, affordable housing, and a decent standard of living.

But they don’t really want a solution. The political will simply isn’t there. So for young, well educated people in Britain, the best bet is to pick another country that does things more sensibly. Let the British press and politicians wring their hand and count their rising property profits, or negative equities when it inevitably crashes. Britain is simply not a good place to make a life at the moment.

Cath, Aberdeen,

"Would the Conservatives have prevented the current house price bubble? Do they have a solution? "

Yes. Live by good economic principles. Wisdom is the strength of the conservative. Prevention would have been to repress the desire to live above their means, follow the principal that "The borrower is a slave to the lender", and not to have bought in at a 100 + % financing. If you're at the very end of your budget, and can't save for a "rainy day", sickness, brokent vehicles, etc, then you are living way above your means. And many people did that, taking out another loan off the small equity they earned. Then the bottom fell out.

In the U.S. (especially So. California), I have heard of a number of conservatives (some I even know) who saw this coming and actually sold their houses a year earlier, and are renting homes, living in trailers, or apartments, until prices hit the bottom. Then they'll buy back in using the equity the gained in their previous homes. That was wise

Ryan, Irvine, CA, USA

We are in a good position. Years from now if the Conservatives get into power, you will appreciate this. Gordon Brown is and has been the best servant of the UK.

Gus Mwaramba, London,

It is hard to escape the view that decisions in housing, pensions and even green policy are tilted in favour of the the Baby Boom generation. Those older and younger are the losers. The reason is obvious - the Baby Boombers are the largest single voting constituency by virtue of their numbers, and they act as a realtively homogenous group. Whether their tilt has been left (the 1960s), right (80s) or centrist (now) this group has got what it wants. Those of us younger and following them are chasing a moving target, one that changes to accommodate another group's interests.

Michael Brooks, Manchester, UK

Would the Conservatives have prevented the current house price bubble? Do they have a solution? Property taxes perhaps? I doubt it. The last bubble was under their administration. At least the young have jobs - I recall 3m unemployed when Mrs Thatcher was PM - no doubt she would have put that down to forces beyond her control.

Eddie, Bangkok, Thailand

THE RUMBLING VOLCANO

From reading the current comments, one cannot help but get the impression that Great Britain today is a quietly rumbling volcano....waiting to explode!

Hopefully, those who are responsible (perhaps irresponsibly?) for managing the current and future affairs of The United Kingdom will read these many comments... VERY CAREFULLY...so that they will not, some day in the future, have to ask with lame and pleading voices:

"What happened? Where did we go wrong? How did it come to this????"

A. G. Gumbs, Glendale Heights, USA/ IL.

what about the status of the housing market, there are continual reports that it may crash. Those of wh cannot afford to get on the propoery ladder today have a decision to make, a risky one at that, do we buy now or wait for this reported crash?

Mark C, Bristol,

I cannot help but agree with the point of view expressed. The majority of young people who pursue a tertiary education in the UK today come away with a 30,000 debt and (often) a piece of paper of low intrinsic value due to the fact that soon 50% of the population will be similarly well-educated. Qualifications like money devalue if you print more. The drive for "education, education, education" is a lot like the drive for property "location, location, location", namely a scam which exists to enroll as many people into lifelong debt, a post-modern form of slavery. How can people wonderwhy these young people cannot manage to get on the property ladder?, with prices rapidly heading into the fractions of a million pounds and lumbered with a student debt that runs into thousands, it is surely no wonder young, well-educated people might feel disenfranchised to be living here.

Simon, Southampton, Hampshire

Nobody forces you to be a graduate. Even with the massive amount of graduates available to employers many are now realising that it is better to get a decent school leaver in and allow them to absorb your corporate culture. 3 years work experience vs. 3 years college.... work experience every time.

As for the houses, it is quite simple. Even if you are at home with your parents and can't afford to live where you want to, then buy a house in one of these cheaper areas. Then you sell it in a few years and with the equity buy a better house in a better area and so on. It's called the housing ladder because start at the bottom and YOU CLIMB IT ! I bought a complete hole in a terrible area in 2002 and two good moves and a bit of DIY along the way mean I can now live where I want to.

Can't afford to live in Clapham ? Well, it takes 45 mins to get to the City from Clapham, and only 55 minutes from North Kent ! Live there !!!

Matt, South East, UK

Dear Joe Manzo. For what I can see around me everyday, very soon...Compare the birth rates, is all a matter of proportionality.

Fabio C, London,

The key word is "zoning". For as long as London refuses to change it's Victorian look and accept CONTEMPORANEITY, home owning will be for the rich only, actualy, for the super rich. Soon their will be only two kinds of people living in London, the very rich and the very poor. The very rich because he can afford it and the very poor because the government pays for him. Vote Gordon Brown in the next election.

Fabio C, London,

It's a tragedy, a travesty. A heart-wrenching, unbelievable situation that this power hungry, heartless and souless government has engineered. For their own buy-to-letting profiteering, power hungry ends. The young cannot afford to buy, forever doomed to rent tiny places for extortionate fees. Why is no-one marching on the streets? Why such complacency? Oh yes, I know, fooled into thinking they are wealthy by endless cheap credit (debt!)

If you had told me 15 years ago that this would be the current scenario, I would have been incredulous. But if you had told me it would happen under a Labour goverment, I would have laughed in your face.

It is too late now for so many thirty somethings. Their hope of raising a family in a modest house; a pipe-dream. I wonder if all those smug buy-to-let landlords know who will nurse them, teach their kids and put out fires in the 99% of towns for the nurses, teachers and fire-fighters they need, yet have priced out.

So it goes!

Harry, London,

There are not enough homes for people in Britain. We need to build many more homes for a growing and diverse population. We need new homes for all sorts of new households, and we need to speed up the replacement of old homes that are worn out after decades, if not a century of repair. It is no good for government to talk about everyone having a decent home in multi-cultural Britain if housing shortages and unaffordability are reinforcing the growing polarisation of society. The failure to build housing on a greater scale may be good for anyone speculating on the property market, but social division and immobility is bad for everyone, and worst for those who are poor.

For that reason we have organised a conference to launch a campaign to build on a massive scale - All Planned Out? The Worldwide Impact of the British Town and Country Planning System. 18 and 19 May 2007 at the Building Centre London. 50 contributors will meet to discuss ways of building homes. See www.audacity.org

Ian Abley, London, Britain

WRM mentions the key, public sector workers who cannot afford to live anywhere. So teachers, police, fire, NHS, social work etc. This will be the same public sector that the private sector thinks live in clover, with massive wages and fantastic pensions. At least, eventually, those in the private sector will realise that their is no one to look after them, their children and their parents when the going gets tough.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

This is all so true. I'm 26 and feel like there's very little to be positive about. My parents & I worked hard so that I could achieve at post-graduate level (and I am thankful for their steadfast support), I battled to get my £19k a year job, which just about makes ends meet. I live with my partner who is qualified to doctoral level and earns less than myself, and we are only just have the means to rent a house (not because I want to be commitment, foot-loose and fancy-free like I read elsewhere in the press last week) because every new place that comes on the market is over-priced and gets snapped up by landlords and letting agencies meaning there is less housing stock to actually buy. I have been given many more opportunities than the possibilities actually add up to. You work hard to do everything off your own bat, and what for? As for ever having children - that seems as far away as the dawn of the next century. But, would I want to bring them into the current status quo anyway?

CBN, Leeds, UK

It is a mistake to be in New Labour Britain, young or old! My advice is get out while you can. There is Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US if you like your liberty, work hard and want a life.

Jimbo, Fumel, France

There's no doubt middle-class baby-boomers of the post war years had it easy compared to the 20/20s and 30/30s now: 1) We had a 'free' tertiary education with a student grant 2) There were far fewer graduates so job-seeking was less competitive 3) Jobs were permanent and pensionable 4) We were able to buy our first property before our 30th birthday 5) High inflation decreased the value of our mortgage payments year-on-year 6) We lived in a less-consumerist culture so money was spent on essentials which lasted longer 7) Credit card living was not yet an option 8) Now we've almost paid off our small mortgages and probably come into inheritances too we can take it easy in our 50s/60s

We were warned for years what most of today's graduates now face: living in rented accomodation or at parents' till middle age, huge indebtedness, inability to attract a mate or start a family, more competition for jobs which are insecure anyway, inability to save, untrustworthy pensions provision

Chris Thomas, Oxford,

suggest they move to North Queensland Australia. plenty of good paying jobs, low cost of living, fresh air and sunshine

Peter, cairns,

When will Europe officially adopt Sharia law?

Joe Manzo, Peabody, MA, US&A

For the most part, I support WRM's viewpoint. I'm not so sure about the lack of jobs... I was (seemingly fortunately) able to find a job with relative ease.

One or two comments get my blood boiling, though- Doug Bates: How old are you??? So we're soft, are we? I consider myself the lucky one of my peer group, working mere 10 hour days. Sure, I expect a good wage (in exchange for long hours, professional status and an MEng from Cambridge)... But total it up, Doug: 20-20s pay maybe £6-700 tax/NI, then say £100 pension, £150-£200 to run an economic car, £350 rent inc council tax and maybe £200 food per month. That 22K wage package is hardly able to fund that AND a champagne fuelled joyride through high society.

And Austin? You suggest that I give up my job as a propulsion engineer on the South Coast (living in the cheapest town I can find), and move to Leeds where there are no jobs, so that I can buy a house? Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?

Tom Clark, Gosport, UK

Oh and where was Lord Rees Mogg when all this was happening? Asleep? Asleep while the Government introduced fees for university education? Asleep when politicians took on the Unions and destroyed decent working wages? Well matie bit late waking up now, isn't it? Go back to sleep and let other people clean up the mess. More houses isn't the answer. You could turn the entire island into a parking lot and that wouldn't solve the problem.

Paris ib, Beausoleil, France

Leave London, or, better still, leave the UK. Get away from all that is bad with the UK: the stifling intrusiveness of Brussels, the constant whining tone of all the media blowhards who populate the subsidized socially-campaigning, comfortably-snug BBC, the poor service, the over-expensive everything... you can get the good stuff (the Shipping Forecast) from the internet.

Nick, Seattle, US

Personally I think buy-to-let has taken up a lot of housing stock. A lot of new developments seem to be geared towards this market. In my local area there are whole roads crammed with apartment blocks. i am my landlords pension which is a knock-on effect of GB's pension policies or lack of them. I feel very sorry for young people these days - as Robin Leggate says in his comment, how are they ever going to get started in life?

carole, London, UK

Thank you so much for writing this article.

I am a 28year old research scientist with a BSc from London University and a doctorate from Oxford University. I have worked incredibly hard and very long hours for many years and won awards for my research, yet I'm still unable to get a long term contract to allow me to get a mortgage - I've had rolling 6 month contracts for the past 18 months and been repeatedly unemployed since graduating. Even if I had been able to get a long term contract when I was in Oxford, I couldn't even have afforded a mortgage on a one bedroomed flat on a salary of £23K. I've now been forced to emigrate because I couldn't get a job.

My brother - a St Andrews graduate -was in a similar position, until he emigrated to New Zealand and I have a large number of friends in similar positions.

I'm angry that I have done everything I was ever asked to do and my reward has been to be crippled with student debts, repeatedly unemployed and priced out of the U.K.

V Jones, Brussels, Belgium

Only a mug would buy a house at these prices. The best thing anyone in their 20s/30s can do at present is either continue to live at home , or rent with 2 or 3 friends. There are thousands of empty new build btl rental apartments around. Don't be taken in by the "house prices always rise" lie - enjoy life as it is not how you want it to be

john smith, manchester, UK

I am very sadly (as I love England and where I live) coming to conclude that my future lies in another country, at least in the medium-to-long term. In Oxford, where I live, the cheapest of semi-detached houses fetches £250k: on a standard 5x multiplier I would need to be earning at least £50k to afford it: ie twice the starting salary (and approaching the top end!) of my profession. A flat is still affordable for £200k (but not for much longer!) which sadly is still out of my reach. Looking back over the past 25 years of British history, it's hard not to conclude that, despite the cheap flights and electronic gadgets, life has got much harder for those outside the top 5% of wage-earners. My parents bought houses at a time when three or four times income would purchase a family home. That's a distant dream for most of us in our 20s.

Sssssh, Oxford,

As someone who has been a 20:20 for the last five years, I heartily endorse the sentiment of William Ree-Mogg's article.

Saying that, university debt is a red herring. Most sensible and serious middle-class 20:20s see student debt as a type of tax we pay for the privilege of a university education.

Nimbyism, on the other hand, is a very real problem. We rent a flat in S-E London that faces a derelict house currently in the process of renovation. Our neighbours, who are middle aged or OAPS, have mounted a campaign to prevent its renovation, for reasons that seem to me entirely spurious.

This, alas, is not an isolated example, and the self-serving foolishness of the baby-boom generation is killing our society. Dwindling birth-rates are a result of sensible young people realising that they don't have enough money to start a family. Why? Because our national wealth has become concentrated in the hands of a grey-haired, property-owning class.

James, London,

David Cameron should read up on and learn from Conservative party history before Thatcher. In the 1950s one nation Tory Prime Ministers (such as Sir Anthony Eden and Harold Mamillan) funded large public sector programmes of affordable housing to rent. Many decent low-income families lived in these homes and later moved on to private sector housing. There is no reason why this programme could not be undertaken again, given the political will. And it would be a vote winner, especially amongst the young, and provide a boost for the construction industry.

Ted Farley , Shepperton , UK

Housing: What is the govt supposed to do? Confiscate land (compulsory land purchase) or trump local resident’s rights in order to obtain planning for social housing (v.undemocratic/illiberal?) Rent control and house building are too difficult operationally. Market manipulation=TAX (lead balloon?) If the market corrected itself that would mean the return of high rates and unemployment.
Student loans: The loan increase is a v.complicated mix of living costs, fees combined with a (dangerously?) high tolerance to indebtedness. This is a ‘which came first’ question that has a different answer depending on where you stand.
Pensions: housing and pensions are locked together. Brown partly caused the collapse of pensions by removing ONE of the incentives: the endowment scandals probably struck the fatal blow. Spare cash went to houses (“modern pension”) driving prices up. The generation that knew how to save lost confidence in pensions, and the generation that followed didn’t know how to save

Iheke Ndukwe, Surrey, England

Two pounts relating to William Rees-Mogg's memory which appears to have some gaps.

First, the universities of Exeter, Bath, Bristol, Nottingham, Warwick and St Andrews have been around quite a while (St Andrews since 1413..... ).

Second, graduates who launched themselves upon the world of work in the early 1980s had to contend with very high unemployment (this was across the board - not just graduates), and enormous inflation as the country struggled to cope with Mrs Thatcher's moneterist policies. Soon afterwards (1987 onwards) there was a housing bubble with mortgage interest rates going though the roof to control inflation -
especially tough for those who had just succeeded in getting a foot on the ladder, only to find that the monthly payment had doubled within 18 months.

There is a lot to be said for a strictly regulated rental market: it deters speculators, releasing property onto the market, and it makes for affordable rents.

Michael , Geneva, Switzerland

"The poor suffer the most."

Quite right. As always, the Brown/Blair regime rob the poor and the not quite poor to put money in the pockets of the big money boys. Do we hear of their cronies in banking, big business or the city being hurt?

What's more, the only real wealth some of us manage to accumulate is our houses. Unlike money, they are hard to hide or shift to other jurisdictions. It surely suits the regime to manipulate more money into real estate, then sit back and wait for the IHT take.

Michael Bruce, Selby, Yorkshire

Too much money chasing too few productive assets. It will correct soon with unfortunate repercussions in the wider economy and prices will align with ability to pay rent and/or service a mortgage .

GC, Harrogate, UK

Utter nonsense - housing prices are at their current levels because of the success of the economy, which has performed consistently well for the past ten years. As for graduates being priced out of the market, this is ludicrous. Dont't forget, they don't have to pay back their student loans until they are earning the national average wage so this leaves plenty of scope for them to meet mortgage payments, particularly if they are single and childless.
Moreover, there are plenty of schemes that let them get a foot on the property ladder such as shared equity with housing associations, which the author of the article hasn't taken into account.
Don't worry, if the Tories get into power at the next election and ruin the economy for us, there'll be plenty of houses for sale at low cost. The only problem is most of us will be on the dole and can't afford them!

Paul Williams, Bangor, Wales

What William has described in this article is the social effects of the speculative financial bubble that is the housing market. If supply really were the issue, then there would not be bubbles in the US or Australia, where there is no shortage of land, or in Spain where lax planning laws mean they've been building like nobody's business. But one day all bubbles must pop, and with a full-blown housing market crisis playing out in the US it can't be long before we see a similar occurrence here.

Tom, Bethnal Green,

The property market in the South-East and London is distorted by the tax rule that allows foreign domiciled people to live in the Uk tax free on unremitted foreign income.
Foreign buyers who are living in the UK to save tax obviously have more than the average amount to spend on a house and drive up demand above the normal that would be expected from the local population.
The effect is even more pronounced in London which is the prefered home for many rich people from around the world. This has been going on for years but demand has increased much more recently with the arrival of the new rich from Russia.Successive governments have been bamboozled by the legal and accounting professions(who earn high fees from tax into leaving this tax rule unchanged. They argue that such people are of great value to the economy. It is time to look at the dubious value of these people when balanced against the social effect on the housing market.

Colin Grant, Montreal, Canada

I think Mr Rees-Mogg must have been living on a different planet from me in the 1980s if he thinks things were so much easier then.
I graduated from university in 1984 in an era when there was vastly higher levels of unemployment than there are now. The only job I was able to get, was one considerably below my educational level. The only people I knew who got better jobs were those who left Scotland to go to the South East of England.
My first home after leaving university was a rented 'room and kitchen' with no bathroom in a Glasgow tenement. I could only afford a house when I moved in with my boyfriend and had two salaries to buy with.
Yes, houses prices are high but there are still plenty of properties out there that people on £20,000 salaries can afford especially if they share and interest rates are still considerably lower than they were before.
I personally think young people have never had it so good.
Well, not unless you think about global warming and all that.

Gillian McLean, Falkirk,

Elsewhere in this issue Mary Kenny complains about young people waiting too long to get married. This tells us why. It is not very realistic to expect healthy young people in their twenties and working not to find girlfriends and boyfriends, but you can't afford a family home on £20,000 a year.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

I was one of those 20-20s, so was my husband. On two increasingly good professional salaries we couldn't afford to buy a half-decent house or flat within a 2 hour drive of London.

We emigrated from the UK two years ago to a country where we could afford to buy property. I don't suppose we were the only two and I'd heartily encourage other graduates to do the same. Our equivalent quality of life in Scandinavia exceeds what we experienced in the UK, to the point of embarrassment.

The UK can kiss goodbye to more and more bright, young graduates with lots of earning potential and plenty to contribute to the economy, and welcome in more and more - at best unqualified workers and at worst lifelong benefits claimants - to drain the economy dry.

Helen, Oslo,

The housing market is yet another reason that highly skilled people will leave Britain to seek employment. Eventually the free market would balance the suply and demand, but punitive taxation and a poor supply will skew the market for one or two generations.

David Chorley, Tulsa, Oklahoma USA

I don't think any of you have quite grasped what is going on. Many of the comments are of the "Well, I had it hard in my day"/ The rise of double income families meant surplus cash. The baby boomers bought their houses and then watched their mortgages vanish with massive inflation of the seventies. Then they fluked upon the greatest economic boom period in British history/ House price rises only benefit those at the top of the ladder (the baby boomers). Those in the middle feel wealthier but aren't. This is an unprecedented transfer of wealth from the young and poor to the old and rich. The old and rich never had a mass pension population, they could expect final salary pensions and could retire at 55. The young should be forced to vote with mandatory elections (increasing their power), the weekend should be increased to 3 days (reducing salaries only spent on slavishly competing for a limited housing stock)and developed countries should have "no work visa" treaties between them

Iain, Bristol, UK

do not agree - it is only those with poor parents who will battle.

loucapetown, cape town, south africa

There are a couple of things that are the culprits. 1. Rent control. 2. Non -British allowed to have tax-free income.

Desmond Taylor, Houston, USA Texas

I am a (late...)20's.20 - I rent a room in a house for 600 pounds per month from my friend (whose parents bought her a house in central London when she was at university), which is just about affordable on my salary, in the most expensive city in the world. Luckily my travel costs are nil as I can walk 50 minutes to work.

A studio flat in London with fewer than 100 years on the lease would still cost me an unaffordable 1000 pounds + per month to pay back on an interest only mortgage. Anyone who says that the answer is to 'scrimp & save' has absolutely no knowledge of the reality of the market in London.
Even more annoying is that when our generation finally does get the benefit of our parents' property, 40% of the cash is taken back by Gordon Brown! Taxing already taxed income is abhorrent & I would vote for the Conservatives on on that basis alone.

Broke, London, UK

Excellent article.

Tony McCrae, London,

Remi, I don't think you're in a position to criticise the poor linguistic skills of others.

Derek, Hull,

My parents lived for seventeen years in a rented one-bed flat - my brother was 12 and I was 4 when they were finally able to buy a small 3-bed flat of their own, and they were well into their 50s before they could afford a terraced house (admittedly in a very nice area of North London). I repeated the pattern, graduating in 1984 then living in a succession of fairly dodgy rented flats - at one point, my husband and I and our three small children were living in a pretty awful one-bed flat in South London. Now, in our late 40s, we have a sizeable (but rather dilapidated - definitely not 'executive') house in a nice village in the Home Counties. We can't afford a second home (wouldn't want one), and are very pleased and proud of what we have achieved in life. it does seem to me that too many young people want everything to fall into their laps these days (and I say this knowing that my kids have got all these challenges ahead of them in the near future).

Sue, london, UK

The problem of a market distortion is unlikely to be solved by introducing more market distortion by the Government: that's socialist thinking.

Anyway, even concreting over the entire green belt is unlikely to have much effect with a booming city - the problem isn't really an artifact of a market distortion but a real problem of limited land.

The much bigger problem, however, is a collapse of British industry outside the south east. This means that even while prices and population falls in the north, that the shortage gets worse in the south.

The problem isn't just limited to houses too: most UK companies are now owned abroad and that means not just moving house to get an interesting job in the first place but also leaving the country if you want to get to the top.

Government should leave the housing market alone: industrial policy is where the problem is.

Scary, Windsor, Berks

I think that you're quite right about the government tataking the lead as it did in the 1950's - wasn't it SuperMac who was Minister of Housing. It certainly did his career no harm!
There is a great deal of land around the Thames estuary which could be used with a bit of vision.

However, your argument that it is harder now for people in their 20's to purchase property as a first time buyer does not agree with my recollection (I'm 54) nor that of my mother.

Even though I was a qualified chartered accountant and working for a bank (cheap mortgage) all that I could afford was a small two up two down in Stoke Newington. I was 27. In my parents' case, my father was 34 before they could afford to buy having saved hard for seven years.

As far as I can see it has never been easy.

Marek, London,

I'm sure William Rees-Mogg is old enough to recall that in his youth few people in their twenties could expect to start out as houseowners. We rented apartments in large houses, or there were business people who built speculatively and let them to those of us who were on low incomes. That is, until sharks like Rachman spoilt it for everyone, whereupon the government over-reacted to make "landlord" a dirty word. The Rent Acts need to be revised to encourage widows left alone in large houses to let a few rooms with kitchen and bathroom to young couples and for speculators to modernise old terraced housing for rental.
Builders cannot cannot be expected to provide brand new housing, whatever the planning laws, if the mortgage is un-affordable

Nigel MacNicol, Oakham,

There are houses for £50,000 - £70,000, however, those closet to me are in Hattersly on the outskirts of east Manchester.
Generaly speaking, if you phone the police and tell them that your 300 neighbours are rioting, they'll come a few days later to take a report.

I'll stay at home thank you.

Dominic, Tameside, UK

In 2002 I as a single 29yr old male purchased a ground floor 1 bed maisonette, I was earning £29k and the property was £116k. I was lucky enough to find a lender who provide the amount I needed to borrow, and I made the purchase by the skin of my teeth!! (I got a personal loan to cover the deposit/fees)

Today to purchase the same property I'd need to be earning at least £38k and I'd then need a x5 of my salary loan (compared to the x3.8 i needed in 2002!) and this would more likely be over 30 yrs, instead of the 25 I subjected to originally.

This is meant to be the type of property 1st timers are meant to afford!!! I wish them the luck I had!!

julian, Bromley,

I think I would lop off one of my limbs to be earning £20,000 at present.

As an apprentice solicitor with a First in Law working at a reputable firm, I have reached the dizzying heights of £12,000. This is all the more hilarious given that my total student debt currently stands at something a little over double my annual wage.

I wouldn't mind if I had something to show for it though, instead of a dump of a flat surrounded by 'Freshers' who are yet to have their aspirations for a comfortable existence through education shattered by reality.

David, Manchester,

A good article, and yes Harold Macmillan beat his housing targets. But now we have the situation where the UK population has risen by over 2 million since 1997. And Blair fiddles as he approaches retirement!

DAVID VINTER, LOUTH, LINCS, UK.

I don't think lack of supply is the problem, afterall everybody already lives somewhere and if what I've read is correct, there are tens of thousands of empty homes around the country. The problem is landlords with multiple properties whose existing portfolios make it that much easier for them to acquire more and more properties at these prices. If 100,000 additional houses magically appear on the market tomorrow they'd simply be snapped up at existing prices by investors. What would happen though is that the increased supply of rental properties would bring rents down (which is clearly a good thing for those who can't afford to buy). The only solution is to restrict multiple home ownership.

Richard , London,

It's called supply and demand.

Parts of the island are overcrowded so the property costs more. There are too may graduates for the jobs available so large numbers elect unemployment rather than try to pay back crippling debt.

Let industry and commerce drive the demand for jobs and the demand for houses drive the demand location of businesses.

No sensible businessman will build a factory in a place where his workers can't afford to live.

Government interference cause problems, so stop doing it!

KR, Stockport,

Austin,
in oxford ex-concil 2 bed flats are now pushing £160K and anything else is now £170K +. Sadly on a good salary i can't hope to afford them and moveing to a cheaper town with no job is hardly an option either.

Anne, oxford, UK

Austin has it exactly right. The problem with always referring to average prices is that this ignores the fact that there is still plenty of cheap property available for those who are prepared to compromise and/or use their imaginations. The belief that people are entitled to own the property that they want in the location that they want is part of the problem, as is the particularly British obsession with owning property; renting a flat is achievable for most and is not the equivalent of semi-homelessness or living in a bedsit.

Chris, Manchester,

Utter rubbish. There are more than enough jobs and housing at present for everyone, the problem is that the middle classes are soft and expect life on a plate - they expect a job to be enjoyable, pay really well and not be too demanding and also expect to be able to afford to live in the same desirable area that mummy and daddy do. Mention living in Luton and they would run back to the gilded cage of living with parents, saving on rent so that they can afford to maintain their nicey nicey social life and not having to mix with the hoi poloi - sorry to rant but what a spineless bunch of losers and thank god for the immigrants who at least bring with them some fighting spirit and a strong work ethic.

Doug Bates, St. Albans,

Planning regs. to a certain point are necessary but the government - any government - should stop interfering with and distorting the market. Housing will soon be an even bigger political football than it already is to add to those of education and health.

GC, Harrogate, UK

I graduated in 1993, my "started job" was based in Birmingham (I'm from Liverpool so had to move away) and this was a little over £10,000 a year, so i was "10-20" and not a "20-20", subsequently I lived in a dive of a flat for 2-3 years in a bad area. I manged to then move into a house with a few friends which was a nice house in a nice area, it took us 3 months to find this house, after looking at around 20 or so properties. Eventually I moved back home, renting a "room" in a large bungalow with oround 8 other tennants (none of which I knew when I moved in), this cost me £75 a week. I've since moved onto the property ladded (I was 27) first buying a flat in Liverpool (for £65,000) and now Im living on the Wirral in a detached house.... anyway the point of the story is no matter what the current climate is you cannot expect to live like your parents at the age of 20-25, my parents didnt and it took them around the same amount of time (and effort) to afford property

Paul, Liverpool, UK

Too many "luxury" developments going up in London which are all sold to buy-to-let before they're even completed. Estate agents pushing prices up. Middle England is doing this to the 20-20s - it's not New Labour's fault that the housing market is spiralling out of control, it's the market, simple as that. The market, driven by the property owners. Property is the best investment and the 40-40s have learnt this. They're making profit out of the immigration issue by buying-to-let, thus pushing prices up in both the housing and private rented sectors. I'm, as a first time buyer who earns over 40k, able to afford a single bedroom flat in an unglamourous area of the East End. Or I can part-buy in a scheme whereby I rent the other 60% of my flat. How's that for housing options?

Scott van Looy, London, UK

One afternoon last week I surfed around a national estate agent's web site and found lots of towns with 2 bed houses for sale at £50k to £60k. This is at odds with media reports saying no-one can afford a starter house anywhere; the problem is that expectations are too high. Last week a BBC report raised the same issue as this article but the emphasis seemed to be on smart flats in the centre of Leeds. I suspect people are renting in relatively expensive areas, enjoyign the cachet those neighbourhoods provide, then complaining that they can't afford to buy there - in practice not many people can, even on higher incomes. If people really want to get on the housing ladder, then with a bit of imagination and a road atlas they can do so.

Austin, London,

I agree with th general thrust of this article, But one very important thread is absent. Social rental housing. Local authorities (not housing associations or any other commercial organisations) should be permitted to build as much social housing as is needed to allow those who are unable to buy to find affordable decent housing. That in itself would easy the financial pressure on house prices and give the 20-20's the start in life that their grandparents had.

Rick, Lincoln,

many lower-paid people may not be able to buy houses in the UK, but with poor linguistic skills and xenophobic worldview, they may not be competent to mass-exodus, either. As immigrants abroad, they will be unable to set national policy, interest rates, housebuilding licences, school entry requirements, or control how they, as WavesOfImmigrants, are blamed by the government or the media for every inadequacy or insecurity of Natives to deal with local impacts of global issues.

A contribution: Of course, more houses need to be built. Distribute development efforts across the countryside and ensure adequate communications and logistics links. Then enable young people to have equity in property they build and reside in, and to start their own businesses rather than await their dues.

remi, london,

I'm a 28 year old with two graduate degrees but found the cost of living unbearable. I was earning 35K two years ago and with no parental support during university I'm still paying off student loans. I seen no chance of affording my own place to live so took the only action available to have some money for my endeavours and that was to leave the UK and I have never looked back. The irony is I'm working in India, go figure.

James, Delhi, India

Housing pressure is caused by 6 million single parents and households and 400,000 people having second homes.
Only 10% of Britain is build up and Scotland has a declining population.

IF there is no net immigration, then in 30 years time the ratio of workers to pensioners going to drop from 4 to 2. Let’s say people work till they drop and save a substantial amount of their wages for retirement; who will pay for pensioners long term NHS and care home costs?. Our children and future employers will have a heavy tax burden and Britain will be fatally uncompetitive.

paul todd, manchester, uk

What is needed is a healthy rental sector which is regulated as in many countries. Much of the present inflation is caused by investors who see no downside in buying property to let at high rents. People cant afford to buy so they have to rent. We need stringent rent controls and all rents should be controlled by the state. Just see the effect a hint of this policy would have on the market.
No party will ever risk offending the property owning classes, its electoral suicide.

M Carroll, Reading, Berkdhire

It is surprising that in selecting factors for creating an unbiased comparison, W.R-M omits to mentions that the young, for a period of time under Margaret Thatcher,preferred suicide to the prospects that lay ahead, or more acurately did not lie ahead.
How was it possible for the young unemployed to even
rent a tent, never mind a bed sit?
The 2-2 generation had a much harder time(£2000 pa if you were very lucky).
Not that this excuses current shortfalls, it is mentioned only for adding 'balance' to the report.

Keith, Bengtsfors, Sweden

Could it be that Brown is quite happy with all this? He ruined private pensions but house price inflation has given us an impression of wealth. He knows that prices have to fall sometime and the goverenment in power at the time will suffer greviously. Part of him hopes that he will not be around when it does as whoever is will get the blame. It may be that the next election will be a good one to lose.

R Mason, LONDON, uk

Quite right. The lack of affordable homes is a massive national scandal, as are the restrictions on new ones being built. The sooner the 1947 Act is scrapped the better, and I speak as someone who will all too soon be a 40-40.

PJ, London,

clearly there must be a major effort to discourage the influx of people to the south east from all parts of the UK and from abroad. As well as housing shortages, there are severe strains on water supply. electricity has to be imported from France.

Populations can increase in a matter of months, but it takes decades to provide the matching infrastructure.

Ken Livingstone needs to change his policies and intorudce more positive measures. The carbon output of London is rising much faster than any other part of the UK

Paul , Northwich, england

Weren't you one of those complaining about the plans to build more homes in the south-east?
I always laugh when commentators of limited memory like Mr Rees-Mogg
describe how hard life is for the children of the rich (the minority).
Yet he supported the political processes that gave us close to 5 million unemployed
that affected virtually ALL the working-class young (the majority).
The pensions disaster? We are constantly told that the vast majority have made no provision at all, nor could they ever afford to. So presumably this so-called pensions disaster affects a tiny minority.
Finger on the pulse, William.

KingKerouac, London,

An interesting approach and analysis. Thank-you.
The "housing problem" however, is not unique to the U.K., and is very much an issue in France as well. There is no doubt too much "financial liquidity" chasing too few real assets. I wonder even, whether "financial wellbeing" weren't a necessary illusion to safeguard social stability.

Peter GILLESPIE, Aix-en-Provence, France

"Semi-homelessness, living in hostels or bedsits, is a poor basis for getting a job or winning promotion."

I was a school teacher in Surrey during the 1970s and for the first six years I lived in bedsits until I bought a small flat. This was pretty standard at that time. What has changed is the much higher cost of buying a first home.

Mark Brady, San Jose, CA, USA

Lots of people are leaving Britain, but we've seen nothing yet. I don't think the reality has sunk in for many lower-paid people just yet: they will never be able to buy a home. When it does, over the next few years, there will be a mass exodus.

I have no problem with immigration when it is under control. However, if it is used to replace Britons who are having to leave the country where they were born, well I think that is immoral.

Robert, Manchester, Lancashire

I am afraid that immigration is probably having the greatest impact on housing demand and will continue to do so far in to the future, especially with Labour's policy of open door immigration. One day some one will have to face the fact that these islands are desparately over crowded and that current immigartion policies are entirely irresponsible and can not continue. The sustainable population of these islands and its seas is proably 40 million, we are rapidly heading for 70 million in the next twenty five years. By then I fear it will be too late and England will be one over crowded housing estate with the social, economic and environmental consequences, etc that unsustainable population growth brings.

chris, woodbrideg, suffolk

Not only can the young no longer afford to buy a house, but with university debt hanging rough their necks, how are they to start saving for a pension, now that final salary pension schemes are such a rarity? All these problems have been directly caused by this government: university loans, house price inflation and the decimation of our pension system.

Robin Leggate, London,

I agree with this article. Even though I am myself a "40-40", I have long thought that if I were half my age I would be furious at the arbitrary injustice of the present situation.

One further point, though. A major reason why existing householders fear development so much is the apalling quality of much new building. Many people now equate development with destruction of any remaining quality of life, a link that is quite understandable after the experiences of the last 40 or so years. This link has to be broken if there is to be any resolution of the problem descrtibed in the article.

It is far from mpossible to build houses that are pleasing, if not breathtakingly beautiful, though that may chip away at developers' profits. (No sympathy there.) Equally, good building need not entail the suburban sprawl that blights many western cities. Architects and planners must show their worth and restore public confidence in their abilities if this problem is to be resolved.

Richard, Cambridge, England

The growing asymmetry by age group of available work, housing and opportunity to accumulate capital could sow seeds of generational conflict unless addressed.

Research indicates the graduate 20-20 group (once they have a career foothold) may at present look forward, on average, to a possibility of buying a first home from around age 34 onward. This can be up to ten years later than was the case for their parents. Unless careers are well underway, arrival of children may add difficulty.

Those without qualifications, and school leavers without work or career plans are most at risk from despair. Signs of social stress can be seen in some parts of the country where bands of youths congregate in the evening and at weekends for outdoor drinking.

For some, emigration is the solution, with more attractive opportunity available elsewhere.

Extreme disadvantage of groups at other times and in other cultures may have contributed to the chance of unrest, revolution or war.

dr venables preller, Warminster, UK

If the Conservatives promised to build 300,000 houses a year I would vote for them in a second.

Calum, Surrey,

So, it is all the fault of the 'nimby's is it?!
Nothing to do with the fact that the country, and the South East in particular, is already massivley overpopulated?
The roads are almost impassible, schools at capacity, noise polution prevalent everywhere. And your answer to this is that the few dying strips of healvily managed 'coutryside' should be paved over, and anyone who objects is a nimby?!

The population was naturally stabilising, and even slightly declining to reach a sensible level, suited to the size of our small island until relatively recently. This stabilisation must be the aim. Not the scramble to plaster this once green and pleasant land in and endless swathe of new estates.

Michael, Hildenborough, England

I'm slightly older than the generation we're talking about (32), but am equally frustrated with the status quo. I have worked incredibly hard to get where I am now, and am earning well over the national average. And yet ... a bedsit in the worst part of London is all I can hope to afford.

But I don't expect politicians to sort this problem out. I will give it 3 years (over which time I will get increasingly tired of reading "House prices surge again" headlines), then I will take my talents elsewhere and emigrate.

The media also bear some responsibility - barring the quality press - for their unquestioning and overexcitable coverage of the housing market. The building societies and estate agents keep spinning and the journalists (most of whom middle-aged homeowners who are doing very nicely thank you) swallow all of this whole.

James , London,

What a relief to hear an older person highlight the concerns of the young for a change: most politicians only seem to care about protecting the interests of their own age-group, the 40-40s (or the 50-100,000+s, more accurately). Politicians need to realise that they have a responsibility to the society of the future, represented by young people, not just the largest current demographic and their desire to maintain the status quo.

The housing issue has now become a crisis. Coupled with job insecurity and the need to rely on family for help, it has just widened social inequality. Young people have the worst of both worlds with globalisation in the labour market and locally-controlled cartels in the housing market. It can't go on forever as it is, despite what the estate agents say, not a free market and continuing distortion for the sake of a cartel will just ruin the chances of a whole generation and generations to come as people fail to form families.

MB, Scotland,

One of the problems in Britain is that we have never taken to flats, as they have on the continent. Most blocks are viewed suspiciously, as a breeding ground for unruly children or delinquency.

This is probably due to cultural factors, such as the English distaste for communal living and hostility to neighbours. It is a pity, nonetheless, as the cost of building small blocks is far lower and would provide a first affordable home for many singles and childless couples, as well as a suitable place for the elderly. Nor need they be ugly, amorphous constructions. Well designed buildings with an attractive decor con be very comfortable places to live.

Francis Tuttle, Madrid,

This wasn't my son's experience when he left university in 2004. He had many more opportunities than I had at teh same age, secured a very good job, passed his prfessional exams and has even bought a house within thoe M25 where he lives, happily married. It can be done. Of course, it helps if you have a good degree, work hard and don't expect to go partying more than once a week.

Frank Upton, Solihull,

An excellent article. I'm 29 and earn around 30k in a high-skill graduate public sector job. I have three degrees. I have no hope of buying even a one-bed flat where I currently live and work, in the south of England, where even a small 1-bedder now goes on the market for over 225k. At current prices I can't see myself owning a property -- any property -- before I'm 40. In the meantime, I save but the high cost of living means I can't save much (I don't even own a car but public transport costs and high rent and council tax eat up a majority of my income). I don't even have an option of contributing to a pension at the moment. I would love to have children but my husband and I can't afford it -- we couldn't afford to pay the rent on one salary and we'd have to give up all expectations of saving for a flat. I am losing all hope given current house prices -- it seems this country wants to strangle its young people. I am looking at emigrating elsewhere, even though I would rather not.

Isabel, London,

Its not a difficult problem - our population has grown in recent years. Firstly - stop it growing then we will not need to forever build more houses. Secondly - ensure each local authority audits land in its area to identify all potential brownfield sites. Thirdly - incentivise business to locate to region of the UK other than the SE to spread out the UK population. Lastly and most importantly start to build good quality homes rather than cramming in as many boxes into inappropriate space. I rent a new build in affluent Gosforth in Newcastle. The homes around us are quality inter-war or pre WW built to last homes with gardens. Ours is a three story throw it up in five minutes piece of rubbish. If planning had insisted our terrace sorry row of luxury town houses was built like the other 1920's terraces in the area it would be worth buying, as it isnt. And there lies half the problem.

Alastair, Newcastle,

You have failed to mention one of the most obvious aspects, public sector housing; the inherently irrational Right-to-Buy scheme accompanied by a sustained under-provision of public sector housing. Someone should do a survey of Right-to-Buy property, as to who owns it now. I claim no knowledge of the particular facts, but clearly if Local Authorities had kept up the supply of council housing they would have effectively increased the available supply of private housing. They could also thereby have increased the use of brown-field sites, which I believe is another problematic factor. The most obvious conclusion is that someone is trying a long-run privatisation of the whole housing market and they aren’t concerned about the side-effects.

Henry Percy, London, UK

Yes, Sir William. It must be much more difficult to find a job now under New Labour than it was under the Tories in the 1980s (motto:: 'Unemployment - a price worth paying'). After all, the unemployment rate today is roughly a third of what it was in those good old days.

But - in spite of claiming that the poor are suffering too - you are really concerned about the children of solid, middle class professionals. It is they who now have to compete with the kids of the riff-raff, all too many of whom ignore their stations in life and graduate with good degrees. Worse, many of those kids go on to acquire well paid jobs and to buy properties, thus pricing nice middle class children out of the housing market.

I like your idea of scrapping planning regulation. Why not initiate a pilot scheme in Somerset? You can then report back on its effectiveness after someone’s built an abattoir, a nightclub and an 'innovatively' designed housing estate next door to your rather splendid home.

Peter, London,

I visited my mother last week. She still lives in the N Norfolk village of her birth 81 years ago. A brother and sister (unmarried) in their late fifties are the last people born in the village to stay (in their parents' house). High housing costs and a low wage local economy have led to this state of affairs.
The village is small enough for my mum to know who's there and who's not. Last warm spring weekend 25 % of the houses were occupied . The remainder are second or higher order properties. Absent residents were presumably in one of their other properties.
Living close to London my wife and I have benefitted from the meteoric house price rises here. Our four graduate sons are all in their twenties. Only one has so far been able to get onto the property ladder with his partner and only with the help of both sets of parents.
If this state of affairs continues for much longer the younger generation will justifiably complain vociferously and demand action.

Malcolm Williamson, Welwyn Garden City, UK

I see no mention of the Estate Agent's not inconsiderable contribution to this problem

Steve Beeston, Hertford, UK

The current housing inflation is the greatest act of speculation in British history. The social consequences have been deplorable. Massive capital gains have to be funded - and they are by those at the bottom of the ladder. Capital gains can only be legitimated by productivity gains - which have (mostly) been feeble in this country. This boom has transferred wealth from those who have least to those who already own assets, and those who have least (the young) are also be expected to keep those who have most in the benefits to which the latter have become accustomed. Easing the planning rules (which will destroy the landscape) will not solve the problem: this is all about a mindset that has evolved here (and in other countries) over the past 40 years. The expectation of endless capital gains is self-fulfilling. It can only be abolished by restoring the old Schedule A, introducing CGT on the primary place of residence and restricting excessive credit. If not, national bankruptcy beckons.

Froghole, Westerham, Kent