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Just a cautionary word on housing policy. I often read: it is simple, just build more houses. Yes, but this does not always translate into lower prices. Housing is complicated by the fact that it is both a consumption good and an investment good, and therefore the cost of finance and speculation can play a part. Reflect on pre-2007 days and what was happening in Spain, Ireland and Australia for example. All had record house building at the time in regimes of 'relatively' weak planning controls. House price inflation was rife in all three jurisdictions.

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