One thing that really makes me angry about owning property in England is the (imho) fraudulent setup where I buy house (or flat) and have to pay rent to the land owner. Yes, that is right. The LAND doesn't come with the HOUSE.
Also money laundring helped plenty, on insanely inflating the prices - money from anyone who could afford this. There are buildings in London that are empty. Kind of like a piece of jewelery that you keep as a safe-keep in the safe (but only bigger).
That said, it is a pitty that plenty of people will see that they got a mortgage of 999 for a flat that "now" costs 200-300,but it is healthy for this parasitic/fraudulent behaviour to end.