The UK's problem is not so much lack of houses (although the planning system really doesn't help) It really is a lack of houses. It's true that some residentia

The UK's problem is not so much lack of houses (although the planning system really doesn't help) It really is a lack of houses. It's true that some residential buildings are not being used to full capacity. It's true that we are far too centralised around London in some respects. However, those are still relatively small effects compared to building ~100,000 too few new homes every year for decades as demographic and lifestyle changes are rapidly increasing demand. You're right that the planning system really doesn't help, nor does the ease with which the big housebuilders routinely manage to bypass it so they can build and sell the high-end, high-profit properties without providing the balancing low-end, lower-profit ones and supporting infrastructure at the same time. It also doesn't help that our education system has pushed people away from practical trades. There are nowhere near enough good independent tradespeople for individuals to conveniently build, adapt or extend their own homes instead of buying the over-priced, mass-produced junk that big housebuilding firms typically offer these days. In some places elsewhere in Europe, people designing and building unique properties for their own needs happens all the time. In the UK, it's still rare enough to be a conversation starter if you meet someone who's actually done it. Of course the problem now is that a significant number of people have treated property as an investment vehicle, intentionally or otherwise, and stand to be financially ruined if there is a big crash. Meanwhile, prices have literally become prohibitive in many cities and other relatively popular locations for the younger generations who are flying the nest and looking for their first home or wanting somewhere a step up the ladder to settle down with a partner and perhaps start a family. The only way I can see to cool the market without causing economic disaster is a slow erosion based on building a more realistic amount of housing stock so market rates naturally fall over time. But of course the big builders and mortgage lenders really don't want that, and the system is stacked against the little guy who wants to go independent for the reasons above, so without disrupting at least one of those groups, nothing changes and the problems just get worse.