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Thank you for your comments on Inside Money: First Time Blues.

The views expressed on these pages are not necessarily the views of the BBC but will be reflective of the messages we have been sent.

The government needs to take control over the amount people can borrow. There have been stories of people borrowing four or five times their salary, which is disgraceful. An upward shift in interest rates would cripple a large number of home owners. The government could do something about this, but does it want to? Probably not, as in the past three years income from stamp duty has increased dramatically, so the last thing it wants is a fall in prices.
Graham Smith, St. Helens

I have never taken a penny in benefits, yet seem to pay more in taxes every year, and I get no support in the one area that I need it, housing

Dan, London

We too are waiting for prices to stablise so we can buy our first home. We are fortunate to be able to save double what we pay in rent each month. But this is only the case because we have finally cleared our student loan debts, so for the first time we are able to consider buying. Sometimes we think it would have been easier not to go to university, but to get a low paid job and part-buy with a housing association, or better still join the local authority housing list, buy the property, and sell it on after two years at a fat profit. Most of the properties we are being offered are ex-council houses. Someone, somewhere has made a lot of money from our taxes.
Anna, Oxfordshire

"Key" workers are like any other young employed person working hard and struggling with the current market. I work in a job I can only do in London. I have never taken a penny in benefits, yet seem to pay more in taxes every year. And I get no support in the one area that I need it - housing. I am certain there are many like me, and it makes me question whether I want to stay in the UK. I suspect there is a growing group of young workers who are becoming ever more disenchanted.
Dan, London

Expensive areas would soon lose their attractiveness if there were no fire stations, hospitals or schools for miles

Jon, Solihull

I feel extremely fortunate that I was able to buy a three bedroom house in the North East. When I felt the frustration of the housing market in Berkshire I simply voted with my feet. Something not everyone can do. But my sympathy for southerners is not boundless. If it were not for the over centralisation of jobs and opportunity in London and the South East you would not have such overcrowding, which is the root of the problem. The solution is not more housing but redistribution of the work force and of opportunities.
Mike Vale, Hartlepool

Perhaps this would help equalise house prices across the country: in areas where essential workers cannot afford a property, those areas could go without the public services the workers provide. I imagine that very expensive areas would soon lose their attractiveness if there were no fire stations, hospitals or schools for miles around.
Jon, Solihull

As an ignored first time buyer, I am sick and tired of being fed statistics from sources with a vested interest in the housing market. Monday's headlines are a classic example, with estate agents saying buyers are returning to the market. Of course they would say that, as it is in their interests' to. The same with mortgage lenders, whose commentary is faithfully trotted out week after week. They face hideous consequences from the inevitable crash, yet still we treat their reports as impartial when they are not.
James, London

The British obsession with home ownership is one of the root causes of house price inflation

J. Kandola, Nottingham

Vikki is yet another example of the whinging public sector who do not know how lucky they are in terms of working conditions, and pension schemes in particular. Vikki is on a salary of £22,000. So, with full service she would receive a guaranteed pension of around £15,000. To purchase an equivalent annuity would cost about £300,000. In the real world, she would need a salary in excess of £40,000 to purchase an equivalent pension. It is depressing to hear her taking for granted a benefit most of us can only dream of.
Richard, Ipswich

Why was Vikki not aware of the government schemes to help her and those in her position? She has been let down by the hospital management, or her staff association, who should be disseminating this information.
Mike Kinzett, Cornwall

I have read that in most other European countries it is the norm to rent rather than buy. In Germany only 40% of people are owner occupiers. The British obsession with home ownership is one of the root causes of house price inflation. As a home is not a liquid asset, it does not follow that rising property prices will make you any richer.
J. Kandola, Nottingham

House prices are completely unrealistic if you are a single person working in the public sector

Elizabeth Sparks, London

It was good to hear a programme that looked at the problem of first-time buyers trying to get on the housing ladder. However, all first-time buyers are finding it impossible, not just "key" workers. I can understand key workers getting priority. But I am in a good job, earning £25,000. I am single, and I cannot afford to buy anywhere. Will I ever be able to own a home, rather than paying much more each month in rent than I would with a mortgage?
Stephen Moffatt, London

House prices are completely unrealistic if you are a single person working in the public sector. I bought a studio flat in North West London 20 years ago for only £22,000. I could not do that now, and feel fortunate I got on the property ladder when I did. Public sector pay remains static, while property prices keep rising dramatically. Some people may have made enormous profits, but the ones who lose out are nurses and teachers. I would suggest Vikki shares the cost of buying with a colleague.
Elizabeth Sparks, London

Are you aware that most social workers are excluded from the scheme offered to Vikki?

Christine Veasey-Connolly, London

I moved to Shetland last year as the house prices were cheaper. I am originally from Nottingham but could not afford to buy a house there. The house I rented in Nottingham was worth £35,000 two years ago. On average, houses like that now sell for more than £110,000, so how are first time buyers expected to get on the property ladder? And the government does nothing except sell off local government housing stock to housing associations.
Stephen Goodwin, Lerwick

I live in Surrey and my daughter & son-in-law would never be able to afford to buy anything here as the prices are astronomical. They had to go to Farnborough to buy their first home. All that is ever built around here is large detached homes. If I had not helped them with their deposit, they would have been living with me for ever.
Mrs P Heron, Surrey

I have a lot of sympathy for Vikki. I only have a place for myself and my children by co-owning with a relative. But are you aware that most social workers are excluded from the scheme offered to Vikki? Given the crisis caused by staff shortages, it would seem sensible to include us. A few are employed by health trusts and are eligible but most get no help. The government does not seem to think we are essential public service workers yet.
Christine Veasey-Connolly, London

Regulation to make housing affordable is what we need

Jason Turner, Cambridge

I know of at least two ruses which have been used successfully by developers to circumvent the requirement that in a development of over 20 dwellings, a percentage of 'affordable' housing must be included. Firstly, when developing 35 dwellings, two planning applications are submitted, one for 17 and one for 18. Neither planning application crosses the threshold of 20, so no need for any 'affordable' homes. Another way out is to apply for outlying planning permission for 70 dwellings. This is granted, and then a detailed application is submitted as "reserved matters". Because this is not a new application, the condition requiring affordable housing does not apply. Despicable. I have two daughters in their 20s, both with university degrees. One earns £15,000, the other has just accepted a job for £11,000. Both are living at home. But what else could they do?
John Buchanan, Essex

The idea that we should compete with each other to see who can borrow the most money - which we then repay for the rest of our lives - is absolute madness. If the maximum amount we could borrow was two times our annual income, then the price of housing would drop. Regulation to make housing affordable is what we need.
Jason Turner, Cambridge

BBC Radio 4's Inside Money was broadcast on Saturday, 9 August, and Monday, 11 August, 2003.