Let wages catch up with house prices

SIR, – Your article regarding housing (Press and Journal, July 12) made for depressing reading as

it could be read as many more young couples having to pack themselves in with parents, or draining even more money from the Bank of Mum and Dad in desperate attempts to get on the housing ladder.

This coincided with similar reports containing bad news. Consultancy firm PwC suggests the average Scottish home will cost 20% more in 2022 than it did last year; growing from £143,000 to £173,000 and that 47% of 25 to 34-year-olds believe they will never be able to buy a home.

It all gets worse with the Royal Institute of Surveyors saying declining confidence in home ownership could be attributed to a lack of available stock. It seems fewer properties are being put up for rent due to tax changes on investment properties.

Instead of just complaining about a situation I’d like to offer a solution if possible. To avoid yet another crisis the Bank of England should freeze house prices for at least five years since house prices are 6.1 times average earnings and the government constantly

complains about the amount of household debt. If viewed against homeowners borrowing against the presumed increasing value of property it would head off the risk of fuelling another debt bubble and make homes more affordable for those on lower incomes.

Optimistic maybe, but why not treat house inflation in the same way as the Bank of England treats consumer price inflation to let wage earnings catch up in the real world we are all living in? Sam Coull, Lendrum Terrace, Boddam, Peterhead