House prices in London have always been out of range for average earners though, I've lived there for nearly thirty years and it was only when I went in with my partner that I could stop renting and get on the property ladder, we had to get a lodger and live in New Cross, (which at the time was quite frankly terrifying, a burglar broke in to a house in the next road along and set fire to the person when they wouldn't hand over their card details
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). Sure, prices were less but interest rates were much, much higher and the banks didn't throw money about like they do now, you'd get 3 times your annual salary if you were really lucky, so it's not like most people back in the day were running around buying up cheap property.