The Guardian: "The housing shortage: one nation?"

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"Houses for £1 and a loan to do them up" 

"During the past few months the city councils in Stoke-on-Trent and Liverpool have been inundated with applications after launching projects allowing people to buy a derelict home for just £1 upfront.

"... Some might feel that nothing illustrates the absurdity of the UK property market better than the arrival of these '£1 homes' schemes at the same time as new figures showed that the national average asking price has hit a record £252,000, and housing charity Shelter warned that many people face a wait of more than a decade before they can get on the property ladder, because of the shortage of affordable homes.

"With house building rates at their lowest for decades, campaigners say it is vital to get as many as possible of the 710,000 empty homes in England back into use. That has been one of the triggers for the new schemes, which often involve properties located within failed regeneration zones."

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"Prime central London property prices inflate bubble fears"

"It may seem that the only way is up [in London property prices] but politicians, retailers and even estate agents are warning that expensive homes are creating soaring rents, an exodus of small shops and a ghost town atmosphere, and that the market could turn out to be a bubble.

"... David Adams of John Taylor, a high-end estate agency, says:

"Trigger events, such as a second international banking collapse or the introduction of higher UK property tax, could expose the prime Central London [PCL] property market as being nothing more than a bubble.

"It is easy to see a failed bank or a heavy duty mansion tax completely changing the perception among international buyers. You could see 20% wiped off prices overnight. It would be the end of PCL as we know it."