Will they never learn ? 50 years ago in my area the average house cost about 5 times the average annual wage ( £500 × 5 = £2,500 )
Today it's about 10 times ( 20k × 10 = £200k ) because of the unrestricted lending , so first time buyers have little chance, and now it looks as though councils are about to repeat the madness.
House prices themselves need to fall to about 8 times, or less, the annual wage, to bring the market back into some balance .but as it is the media cheer when there is a house price rise and these councils are fueling even further rises .
50 years ago all morgages required a 10%+, deposit and had to be paid back within 25 years and before the age of 65. which stabilised prices . but then the building soc. started allowing 40+ year, and interest only morgages. The result was the boom and crash of the banking system.