Keith Towers Isle of Wight Morgan, you have hit the nail fairly and squarly on the head. Everyone needs a home as much as they need water, and the greedy worthless bankers of this world know how to sell both at extortionate prices. Their day will come of course when nobody wants their money. I have no debt, and take a special pride in refusing it when asked to take this card or that card from the various banks. Ok, I'm not rich, but I am happy. Sean of Durham Dafydd, Morgan may be trying to be emotive in his arguements, but essentially thay are sound. although I am too young to remember Rachman ( a mere 37 year old), I have a keen interest in the economy, and perhaps for different reasons, I agree with Morgan. The greed of the people has pushed house prices to a comical level, and loom like they are going to go higher even with the latest rate rise, however, a huge fall is inevitable. Those people who have overstreched themselves to get their first foot on the housing ladder will either find their investment is only worth half what they paid for it, and will be unable to move for the next 25 years due to negative equity, or else they may lose their homes as the banks take them back, and re-sell them at half the price to the armies of first time buyers who cannot afford to buy at the moment. Harry Lewis, London Dafydd, perhaps you have some BTLs, are worried you may loose money should the crash occur. Morgan, excellent stuff. I am deeply saddened for a whole generation that is currently priced out and will never own a house. Oh yes, Dafydd, they could buy a rat infested, druggie surrounded one bed flat. But how do you raise a family in that? I am sickened that some people feel it is in order to have holiday homes and a few buy to lets, while others have nothing, and are forced to pay the mortgages or these greedy people. Or be priced out of their home town by rich southerners. ! I totally blame NuLabour. Why are the giving tax relief to BTL landlords? Robert Casement Very interesting John. I liked your point about property non-ownership as it is really the banks and other lenders that are the "property owning democracy" in the UK. I'd go even further and say that property ownership is an illusion. Nobody really owns their house, ownership means the right to freely change, gift, destroy or dispose of an item with complete freedom. Ownership also implied that you are allowed to keep the item without further payment to anybody. None of these tests can be passed with a property item in Britain even if you have nominally "paid" for it. Logic and commonsense tell anybody that a house is worth what it costs to build and, after it is built, begins to wane as the property "wears out". But not in the "funny" world of houses it seems where a flat that costs £30,000 to build sells here for £300,000. Whose pocket does the £270,000 go into? Everybody also knows that ten years ago things were much as they are today... so why does property cost three times more? The only explanation is that the "property fairy" has waved her magic wand - and what the property fairy gives the property fairy can take away. We are indeed about to experience a "correction" but a correction of biblical proportions. Does anybody in Britain (or even in the world) believe that inflation is "under control" or even that the government has any influence upon it at all? Inflation is on the way and with it higher interest rates. Nobody but the top few percent of Britain's workers could even finance a £200,000 mortgage with base rates at a modest (historically) 12%. The best analysis is a return to historically reasonable valuations (a drop in values to half present ones probably won't be enough). In over-supplied property markets prices gravitate to building costs... when building stops until supply-driven economics force more to be built. But that's enough. I'm happily renting for about 50% of what a mortgage would cost on my "£350,000 flat" and am happy to trade my "dead money" for a good night's sleep. Dafydd of Sydney Your style of discussion remains the same, you skirt around the subject with many superfluous details, and on different levels trying to appeal to a sympathetic chord. Anyway. How much more would you have lost if you paid rent, butt? Buying and selling is a matter of timing sorry but you seem to have got your timing wrong. When did the government have the opportunity to take all land into public ownership? Do you imagine it would have won a lot of votes for them? They sold all the council houses for short term gain. So why would they retain land title. Here they raise so much in tax when you buy and sell property is there no tax in Wales????? Who can you trust in government? (I was born in 1948 and realised it was time to find somewhere else to live, where the sun shines and the people are friendly and you can make money if you work and get some support if for some reason you don't. It's a long way away though butt!) Morgan of Varteg I do not require that others than myself should obtain and pay for my home. What I deprecate is the excessive greed shown by people, not so much today, as the die is cast, but those who took advantage of the ease at which finance could be obtained in the recent past, and which allowed the purchase of so called desirable properties in desirable or preferred areas, leading to the towed along price hikes as they in turn sold on to others in their wake, and at greatly inflated prices. The whole problem is ongoing. A part solution was in the hands of the government when they had the opportunity to take ALL land into public ownership, this could easily have thwarted the escalation in land values that have reached preposturous proportions at this time. Small plots of land fetching sums that were only available to town centre commercial developments a few years ago. No my friend in Sydney, it is down to plain and simple greed, brought about by the easy laissez faire society dreamed up and promulgated by the Tory administrations of the late 70s to mid 90s. I don't need any lessons in social management from down under, I have lived too long under successive failed governments and had to suffer the problems caused by them all my life. I was a child under bombing in the 40s, a youth under the period of acclimatisation of the nation to loss of empire and world standing, suffered the pangs of mass unemployment in the late 60s, and the disruption of life brought about by boom and bust economic policies throughout it all - trying to make ends meet when laid off through bad weather, trying to catch up financially in the very short periods of good weather, and endeavouring to make a good family life for those around me. When the bust does occur, as it seems it will in the not too distant future, I will not have the guilt on my conscience, that I put my house on the market in order to capitalise at the expense of some poor person trying to desperately to get a foot on the housing ladder. I have never sold a house for more than I spent on purchase plus the cost of refurbishment. Nor have I had any grant from the state in order to accopmlish the works done to my houses. Only three in fact, including the one I live in now. My first purchased in 1971. I don't buy and sell short order to make gain. I fail to see why people do so - the only reason for such activity can be GREED. If accurately calculated, I reckon I have actually lost on the sale of the first two. So I put my money where my mouth is and stand by my principles. Dafydd in Sydney Perhaps you could put some energy into formulating a remedy for the situations you describe. Who do you think should pay for a house for you and your neighbors? Is it not a good thing to provide a home for your family and yourself? Should the country or indeed rachmann supply your home and you just pay what you can afford this month as rent? When so much money is tied up in property surely the assets value should rise. Why should there be a crash????? To skirt around a subject making innacurate, emotive statements is simple enough but trying to solve problems may even make a difference. Do you agree or disagree with Morgan's view? 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