Why have house prices increased so much over the last twenty years?

economic

westernpromise wrote: »

What's special about 3.5x salary?

Are you one of those Stone Age Labour Party types who wants women returned to being considered husbands' chattels in the tax system?

judging by his name and his posts, hes one of those european socialists and pro-EU types who uses "human rights" as an argument for literally everything that he believes is wrong with society/economy today.

GreatApe

Chrysalis wrote: »

So Birmingham has no waiting lists for affordable accommodation, and house prices are no higher than 3.5x average salary?

Can you name any single year over say the last 50 years where the waiting lists were zero?

Waiting lists say zero about how affordable or not housing is.

Chrysalis

westernpromise wrote: »

What's special about 3.5x salary?

Are you one of those Stone Age Labour Party types who wants women returned to being considered husbands' chattels in the tax system?

I use it as a baseline to determine supply and demand.

Supply and demand generally governs the price of goods relative to affordability, if supply is high, goods are sold for lower than the population would pay under normal circumstances, likewise if the supply is low they are sold for more than what be considered a reasonable value (under duress).

What I see is in the past few decades house prices have ran away from income levels, and that is a clear sign of under supply. We see the same trend with rents in the private sector, another clear sign of under supply. Even the government has acknowledged this as they refuse to cover full rents anymore on housing benefits on the basis they not set at reasonable rates.

I dont see any obvious signs that there is no under supply of housing.

Also your comment seems to suggest single adults shouldn't be able to buy a house? very bizarre.

My economical point of view is nothing to do with political leanings or if I think women should be a housewife.