Lunchtime news May 11

The Financial Times house price index for April shows stable house price inflation across the country (see interactive map).

Legacy fever continues with the Times commenting that one of the intractable endowment’s of the Blair decade has been ‘the distortion of any normal or sustainable relation between house prices and people’s incomes.’

In a Bricks and Mortar special on first time buyers, Michael Gove calls for more homes to be built, there’s a guide to the government’s low cost home ownership schemes; plus a selection of options for first time buyers.

The supplement also reports on a new readiness to consider the situation of the 3.1 million people over 30 who ‘expected to retire in their own homes but will actually live out their golden years in rented accommodation’

The Independent, the Sun and the Mirror all report that yesterday’s rate rises represent another nail in the coffin of struggling homeowners.

Complaints against estate agents are running at an all time high reports The Express. The paper reveals that the ombudsman for estate agents received 8,000 enquiries from angry customers in 2006.