I'm not sure the 'housing shortage' that we are continually being fed is as real as some would have.
When we got married in 1968 our new house was £4,250 being a 10% deposit (I think) and a mortgage 3 times my salary. That was all that was allowed.
A few years later the government removed that constraint, so many people took out mortgages far greater than 3 times their salary. That brought about gazumping and the consequent rapid inflation of house prices.
