This was posted by HJ this morning in a rather off motoring topic answer in his weekly motoring Q&A and I thought it was a brilliant idea.

The fact is that the UK needs at least 1,000,000 new homes and the 8 major developers are holding back developing sites for which they have planning permission in order to increase the prices. Standard supply and demand. Sajid Javid says he's going to so something about it but actually the solution is for the Government to create 'The Housing Bank'. Very simply, anyone with money languishing at 0% in a bank account (while the bankers gamble with it) voluntarily withdraws their money and invests it in 'The Housing Bank' that guarantees a 2.5%pa return for 10 years. The Housing Bank then uses that money to build affordable homes on the many available patches of Government land, preferably those adjacent to facilities such as schools and hospitals. The dispossessed who can't afford to buy any kind of property then get £85,000 - £120,000 houses on a 3% mortgage. The catch is that the houses are price controlled so their values cannot rise by more than 2.5% a year. Attempting to control developers hasn't worked and never will. Competing against them and beating them at their own game could work, to the benefit of everyone, particularly the 20 - 40 year olds living in bedsits or with their parents. Not 'Council Houses'. Not 'Housing Association' houses. These will be covenanted freehold or leasehold basic affordable homes. The other huge benefit, of course, will be to lift Britain out of its extremely dubious property price based economy.