I dunno about the UK but that doesn't ring true for the US. There still seem to be plenty of affordable places to live in the US, just maybe not near major cities. When you say people move to more affordable parts which become unaffordable, are you referring to the suburbs of London? 

SimpleStacker

econ

It's Housing's Fault We YOLO All-In on Bitcoin (FT, John Burn-Murdoch)

denlillaapan

Very true. Every one left London a long, long time ago for safer and affordable areas, then life in the safer and affordable areas became unaffordable, so they moved to the less safe, more affordable, and it goes on, all the way throughout the nation.

Add in some population expansion, you have an unfordable nation with no jobs, no growth, just a culture of capitalism on the way up, socialism on the way down.