The government has to take the heat out of the UK’s pressure-cooker housing market

Without decisive intervention, writes Phil Thornton, millions of people will continue to be left stranded

The UK has relied for too long on an exclusively market-led model of housing delivery (Joe Giddens/PA)

The runaway house prices boom is causing agitation. For evidence, you only need to look at the picturesque Devon town of Salcombe, where the Conservative-controlled council unanimously agreed an amendment to the town’s neighbourhood plan to ensure all newly built homes are used only as a primary residence.

They are not alone: St Ives, Fowey and Mevagissey in Cornwall had already taken similar steps, while two Welsh authorities have taken advantage of the power to double council tax on second homes – with one party even calling for a 500 per cent increase.

Nor is it a UK “thing”. Next month Berlin is due to hold a referendum that, if passed, would force the largest private landlords to sell their properties to the city government at a “fair” price.