Working as a property manager in 2007 I visited a landlord who proclaimed that property prices would always double every seven years.
They declared this as a statement of fact based on the historical movement of house prices.
Any speculator will tell you that past performance is not an indicator of future performance, however, many sensible investment decisions are based upon considerations of past performance.
On a more logical level I wondered how a small terraced property in my region could possibly be worth £320,000 in fourteen years, on the basis of the landlord's belief that the value would increase from £80,000 to £160,000 in seven years and then up £320,000 seven years after that.
I did not even begin to think about the subsequent increase to £640,000 within twenty years, it did not seem plausible.
When it comes to property, we have a cultural attachment to bricks and mortar.
We are proud of home ownership and see it as a mark of success.
Working class people take pride in home ownership and despite volatile markets and a recent economic collapse, we still hold property in high esteem and consider it to be a safe and worthwhile investment.
I am always reminded of the advert on television where the Grandfather, with a strong regional accent to highlight their working class background, tells the grandchild that their future is in bricks and mortar.
The advert goes to great lengths to show a sense of pride in home ownership and that it is a product of a life's work.
Certainly there are people who made a fortune from property investment, but there are also those who invested in property and lost everything.
Property investment is speculation after all and all investment comes with an element of risk attached.
The cause of the 2007 credit crunch which preceded the global economic downturn was down to many factors, one of which was mass speculation by the banks where they recklessly approved mortgage applications that today they would not accept.
At the time the banks believed that they could approve marginal loan applications, as they would be bailed out by increasing property equity and the potential of re-mortgaging to a more stable and affordable position in due course.
For a long time they made a lot of money this way.
Unfortunately this reckless approach was doomed to fail.
Investors began to look over their shoulders wondering when the crash would occur and this become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Where the banks had over-extended and taken chances to make money, these decisions were brutally exposed as rash.
Once confidence in the markets fell, the rug was pulled from under them and everything collapsed.
After a period of flux the problem for first time buyers today is the banks are now very cautious.
Banks recommend asking parents and family to assist in putting down large deposits and it is getting harder and harder to secure mortgage from them.
Banks have moved from a high risk exposure strategy to a low risk exposure strategy, meaning those from lower income backgrounds usually have to save for many years to even afford a 10% deposit.
Without action to facilitate young people and first time buyers have access to entering the property market I am concerned that society could move to a point where only those who are fortunate enough inherit a property can obtain it, or only those who are lucky enough to secure high income employment can reach this very British goal.
This will surely have an adverse effect on engaging the working classes with politics, be a visual obstacle in the gap between rich and poor and curb any advances made under the previous government to improve social mobility.