Editor,

Fifty years ago, as an itinerant, English tradesman, my Swansea landlady complained that I had two baths a week. I decided to buy a house in the Mumbles, and as I approached the house a young couple were departing, and when the owner told me they had made an unacceptable bid, I offered the asking price.

John R Moss (Cambrian News, 28 October) quotes two reports, from Swansea University and the University of London, to support his claim that what is required is higher wages for local people.

I am not an economist, but I have owned seven houses, and with seven children I have an interest in their housing needs, particularly since quantitative easing has been fueling the market for several years. I am despondent that the second home debate fails to recognise that huge and sustained price impetus, and two other factors that make higher wages a red herring.

Many reputable economists have said the Government‘Help to Buy’ scheme, and the prolonged ‘Stamp Duty Holiday’ have simply further fuelled an already overheated and unhealthy market.

I maintain that higher wages are in the same category, and what is required to ease the housing crisis is the Senedd’s large, rented, social housing programme, redirecting the emphasis from owner occupation.

Roger Louvet Porthmadog

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