As someone with more than a passing interest in the marketing of new homes, I read with interest London Mayor Boris Johnson’s ideas for boosting the housing market in the capital – announced on 3rd March.

He’s calling the scheme ‘UpToYou’ which reminded me of the many wordsjoinedtogether brand names I’ve come across in the housing and particularly the affordable housing sector.

The idea is that first time buyers rent their home at a discounted rent and then buy it, or a share of it, at a later date when they can afford to – or more importantly, get a mortgage for it. And despite interest rate cuts for five months in a row that’s still a sticking point in my opinion.

The Mayor announced some other ideas too, including cash boosts for mothballed sites, from the Homes and Communities Association. It’s potentially good news for first time buyers, as well as all those involved in building, kitting out and marketing new homes.

Whether these initiatives are going to make a real difference remains to be seen, but it’s good that some creative thinking is being applied to this serious problem. It’s exactly what we’re doing for our clients here as they struggle to get units sold.

Boris seems optimistic, at any rate. He says: “The property market will get going again in the next two to three years, so we’ve got to keep the supply going.”

Let’s hope he’s right.