Episodes

EpisodeTitleFirst
Broadcast
Comments
01196820190826How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in past decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the first of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1968. This was when salaries - in real terms - were considerably lower than they are now, mortgages were hard to come by and would most likely be calculated only on the male earner's wages. It was also the year when house building hit its peak. So, is their hunch right - would they have had an easier time back then?

The experts who guide our couple through 1968 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.

Producers: Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in 1968?

How might a young couple unable to buy a first home today have fared in previous decades?

02197920190827How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in previous decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe that earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the second of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1979. Inflation rates were soaring and mortgage payments were likely to take up more of your income than ever before. Industrial unrest was commonplace, but the gap between top and low earners much less than in other decades. So how much difficulty would a young couple, trying to get on the housing ladder back then, have faced?

The experts who guide our couple through 1979 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.

Producers: Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in 1979?

How might a young couple unable to buy a first home today have fared in previous decades?

03198820190828How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in past decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the third of five programmes, Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1988. Unemployment was high, the result of the deep recession that had hit manufacturing businesses so hard, but credit was easier to come by than ever before; deregulation was full steam ahead. And house prices, in London and the South East, were climbing fast. Would a young couple, back then, have faced the same sort of difficulties Tacita and Charlie do today?

The experts who guide our couple through 1988 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.

Producers: Paul Kerley and Rosamund Jones

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in 1988?

How might a young couple unable to buy a first home today have fared in previous decades?

04199720190829How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in previous decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in that part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In part four of five programmes Tacita and Charlie travel back to 1997; the Labour party has just won power in a landslide victory, the Conservatives claim to have left the economy in better shape than ever before. Just a few years earlier a property crash had left hundreds of thousands of people in negative equity or suffering repossession. So, what sort of difficulties might a young couple, trying to get on the property ladder back then, have faced? And how might they compare to the situation Tacita and Charlie are in today?

The experts who guide our couple through 1997 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.

Producers: Paul Kerley and Rosamund Jones

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in 1997?

How might a young couple unable to buy a first home today have fared in previous decades?

05200920190830How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in past decades? Tacita and Charlie are in their mid twenties. They live near Brighton on the south coast and are desperate to move in together. But buying somewhere in this part of the country is out of their reach. They believe earlier generations had it easier than they do. In the final programme Tacita and Charlie travel back to 2009. The global financial crisis is biting hard, mortgage lending is being squeezed and workers are facing a pay freeze. So, is this the worst period so far for a young couple trying to get on the housing ladder? And how does it compare to today?

The experts who guide our couple through 2009 are economist Jonathan Cribb from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Professor Sharon Collard from the University of Bristol and Professor Claire Langhamer from the University of Sussex.

Producers: Rosamund Jones and Paul Kerley

How might a young couple, unable to buy their first home today, have fared in 2009?

How might a young couple unable to buy a first home today have fared in previous decades?