1968: Our House - Episode 1

This is Capitalism

How 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