And if we can keep the number of "new builds" well below 200,000, who knows how high they could go !

Some cheering news from the Centre for Economics and Business Research ..
The cost of the average home will jump by nearly £50,000 over the next  five years, partly fuelled by the Government’s  mortgage lending scheme, a report reveals today.
 
The Centre for Economics and Business Research said house prices will pass their pre-recession peak next year and will go on to hit record highs at a time when millions cannot afford to buy their own home.

The economic consultancy predicts the £130billion lending scheme, unveiled in last month’s Budget, will add more than £1,000 to the price of a property next year.

Economist Daniel Solomon, who wrote the report, said: ‘By 2018, we expect the typical UK home will cost £267,000, over 20 per cent more than this year.

‘We expect the Chancellor’s new Help to Buy scheme will push up house prices before it raises housing supply.’
 
Although full details of the scheme have not yet been published, the CEBR predicts it could ‘raise prices by up to 0.8 per cent in 2014 without having any appreciable impact on housing supply’.