The ups and downs of the property market and lack of affordable housing is a national obsession. Over the years the problems caused by poor living conditions - families who are homeless because they cannot afford escalating rents and are on council waiting lists, and those living on deprived estates - have been well documented. But not as publicised are the negative effects that housing unaffordability can have on those who are already on the 'property ladder' and the direct impact this has on the well-being of the children in these households.
Prices may be starting to fall but housing is still a long way off being affordable for many families. Peter Ambrose, visiting professor in housing studies at the Health and Social Policy Research Centre, Brighton University, says of high house prices, 'Thirty per cent of the population are not benefiting because they are not homeowners. But then many owners are also not gaining in any real way, because of the stupid rises in paper values of property are not translated into real gains where you are buying and selling in the same market.
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