> There's a very inflexible housing market here in the UK, so we're all in competition for the best houses, and bid up their value against each other. Well ye

> There's a very inflexible housing market here in the UK, so we're all in competition for the best houses, and bid up their value against each other. Well yes, prices rise to the maximum amount that people can afford because the alternative is not living at all. Quite simply there aren't enough houses in the place where the jobs are. The only way to change that is to build more houses or move jobs. 40 years ago the average 18 year old could look forward to owning a modest 3 bed semi with a nice garden with a couple of kids and an annual holiday, all from a single wage Today they can look forward to hopefully being able to afford somewhere if they get 2 incomes, both in the top 80%ile range. Kids are unaffordable as both parents have to work to pay the mortgage, and there's no extra for a holiday, let alone childcare costs. But you can veg out in front of netflix after your 2 hour commute instead of watching Neighbours at half five.