I don't think rampant house price rises are a good thing. I bought my 3 bedroom end of terrace in 1992 for ?80k and since then, according to the above its risen in value by around 300%. My salary in the meantime has (and this includes a promotion or 2) only risen by 60%. It doesn't take an eistein to work out if I was first time buyer in Forest Hill today I couldn't even dream of buying my present home. This just increases the gap between the have and have nots and the knock on social ills that brings.