They're called the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, and they predict that by 2026 the cheapest quarter of UK homes will cost ten times the average salary of the lowest paid quarter of UK citizens. This is no scare story - they argued on this morning's Today programme - since the gearing has already reached seven times, up from four times just ten years ago. The new unit is chaired by Stephen Nickell (ex Bank of England monetary policy committee member), who has dismissed talk of a house price crash. As long unemployment remains low, there's still room, he argues, for further interest rate increases, too, with the market simply slowing down for a while.

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