Steve mentioned NIMBY, but I lean towards being a BANANA (build anything near anywhere not adjacent)
I see what you've done there Mike.
Sorry but I've cocked it up (failed memory); BANANA should be 'Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody' An improvement, I think you'll agree.
5 years ago I had pretty extensive electrical work done to my maisonette. I now need it testing (mandatory every 5 years) and the cost from the same chap will be £204 incl. Actually, that's a good deal but how on Earth can that constitute a morning's/afternoon's work as presumably it's all labour?
I'm surprised that the property market generally simply faltered rather than slumped and now, in some places, appears to be inching ahead again. That the building shortage is the underlying factor here is not in doubt, but to me, the simple rules of economics fly in the face of further capital appreciation. Mortgage interest rates, unprecedented (?) deposit requirements and the sheer increase in cost of living/maintenance/insurance etc. mitigate against it.
Yes, there's lots of cash floating about and forming a sizeable chunk of sales, but nobody want's to make a poor investment, even though it's one's home, surely. Hard to fathom.
I readily admit that I've lived (blissfully ignorant at each time) through the better or best periods of house acquisition and feel that younger (comparative case) generations have a bleaker future in this area than any beforehand.