“JohnBoyWalton, you may have been known as a local 'rudy' back in the day, but that is all you were, rude. It seems it is one rule for you and one rule for another. How can you generalise housing need by assuming there is a median value for a house purchase? I am sorry, but not everyone was born a Surveyor to know how much a house is truly worth! You could argue that any house you buy is worth £1 and any house you sell is worth at least £60,000. Where is the logic in that? Just because a house is marketed at a price where the owner can make a small profit or pay off their mortgage does not mean that the house is worth that amount or not! It seems you must have skipped University and spent too much time riding in cars not belonging to you, uninsured and unqualified, to understand the reality of supply and demand. Would you like to know what it is? Well one thing it isn't is objective. It will always be subjective which is why it is foolish to generalise over the supply and demand of housing. You can build 1 million flats in a city that has 10 million single people. But that does not mean there will be 10 single people chasing each flat! Conversely, you can build 10 million detached homes in a city that has 1 million families, again that will not translate to each family owning 10 detached homes. We all have differing needs and differing aspirations which are dictated by the quality of our surroundings and the company we keep. Supply and demand? In your ideal little mind there may be an ideal little world however, the sooner you wake up and see the world for what it is in terms of its size, diversity and complexity, then the sooner you will realise that your generalisations were futile, just like your post.”

“Ebliss777, since you bemoan being able to save a deposit one assumes you are talking about a first house purchase since you would almost certainly use the equity from an existing property if you had one.

So why are you suggesting 350,000 is a reasonable amount to spend on a first house? What kind of mansion do you want?

Bank lending is not the right solution to our current problem. It's amazing that people are moaning about banks not lending on mortgages now, when at the time of the crash they were vilified for causing it by lending too much. And if you look back a year before the crash the papers were full of stories moaning that banks were not lending enough, should reduce deposit requirements, increase salary multiples, etc.

And how do you think you saving money and then borrowing a load more to buy a house is going to cause an upturn in the economy? In order to save you will spend less, so buy less goods and services. Once you've purchased a house you will have committed a significant portion of your income to a mortgage giving you less money to spend so you will continue to buy less.

What we really need to do is take a long hard look at the way the housing market works, particularly in the area of pricing. It's interesting that, unlike in the housing crash of the 80's, estate agents have not been blamed for putting houses on the market at inflated prices and driving prices up. But we're still missing the 3rd party who always seems to be blame free - the purchaser. Simply put, if the house isn't worth the money, don't buy it - it's the fundamental point of supply & demand economics. But it seems that in the housing market we operate a system that says if I want that house and the person in it wants to sell it and the bank is willing to lend me the amount of money the seller wants for it then it's a deal.”

“The Derby 'Crollage' empire marches ever onwards.

Just the one basket for all those eggs is it?”

“It wasn't my intention to denigrate all the university degrees, as you say some have far more merit than others. It was aimed at the soft degrees which leave graduates with little or no actual job prospects. Those taking the degrees you mention will always find a job in their chosen field. University isn't for everyone, they are better with their hands than with their brains and this place will be great for them. I am sorry if I offended you and belittled your degree it was not my intention to do so.”

“@ janine2011
"for some it will be better than university as they will have something to offer prospective employers other than a certificate, practical experience gained through doing it, not writing about it."

While I understand what you say, you are lumping all university courses under the same stigma. They are not all "writing" - I read chemistry and way over 50% of my uni time was spent doing practical experiments in labs - experience that was invaluable in my subsequent career. I suggest many degrees (usually the ones classed as more "difficult" - chemistry, physics, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, biochemistry etc ....) have large practical content that should not be denigrated.”

“An upturn in the economy?
Does that mean the Government is about to launch interest free mortgages?
I didn't think so...
Mind you, it's not so much the interest rates at present, its the chuffin' deposit!
20% of £350,000 is erm, a lot of money!
To raise that kind of capital you need to become a drug dealer, or a prostitute, preferably both!
Unfortunately for me, neither trade will have me!
So I suppose the only way I am going to get my hands on that sort of dough is to take it off other people who have that kind of dough, maybe a protection racket? Or, I know, set up a charity and con people out of cash! Alas, most of these options require me to lose my morals and inflict unnecessary pain upon the innocent folk. Is this the world we live in? Where the only options to succeed are borne from evil intentions?”

“Nice to see invesment in the young ones.......hope they take advantage of it !”

“If it is anything like the ones we used to have they will offer apprenticeships in just about everything, mechanics, plumbing, electricians, the list really is endless. We have a shortage of some trades and while there are not many jobs available there is nothing to stop them setting up in business for themselves once they have completed their course. Hopefully they will be along the lines of the City and Guilds which took 3 years to finish and turned out the Time Served craftsmen that the colleges used to produce. One of the biggest mistakes was closing those colleges down. One is a housing estate, another is a derelict piece of land all these years later. Don't look down on it as a waste of time due to the recession, it will be invaluable to many youngsters and give them something to look forward to, for some it will be better than university as they will have something to offer prospective employers other than a certificate, practical experience gained through doing it, not writing about it.”

“Sorry to say but the consruction industry is barely alive at the moment. I unfortunately know a few people who cannot get a job in their preferred trade (joiner, bricklayer) for the past 3 years. These are guys with years of experience who had been working for the major contractors.

When the economy picks up again and the number of people that can afford to buy houses increases that will be the time.”

“The 'inevitable' upturn? It's good to see a bit of hope, but that hope alone does not create jobs.

The next decade is going to be very hard, particularly for the young and while it may be nice and kind to post upbeat comments regarding the future the facts are that there has never been so many 18-24 years olds out of work.

The economy needs some serious rebalancing and while I think this is slowly starting to sink in amongst our illustrious leaders, they sure are taking their time to make sure such policies means they and their pals don't lose any wealth in the process. In the meantime, we'll have a 'lost' generation.”