It depends on what type of house they want. The average price today may well be £280K but there are plenty still available especially in Hull for well under £100K. My first place was a two up two down, with a back yard, no garden, and the 'bathroom' was a single brick building added onto the kitchen. No central heating, second hand furniture, black and white telly from Pools Corner etc etc. We didn't own a car for our first ten years of married life and no-one I knew went on a foreign holiday. It was hard, and that was the norm for the working man. I had to take on an extra job when the overtime dried up at work. We slowly did the house up bit by bit, sold it, and moved on to something a bit better, and I've done that ten times. Today people want everything straight away. I never earned £5k a year either working in the foundry at Ideal Standard when I started there in 1972, and Standard was considered as one of the best paid jobs in the city. We jumped for joy when we got a rise to £1 an hour just after the first miners strikes in the early 70's, that is £40 for a 40 hour week, less tax and NI. It was never easy. I've been in punch up's on the shop floor over overtime because we depended on it to pay our bills.
Not saying it's not hard today for kids to get on the housing ladder today either but I doubt if they would have lived like we did. Also don't forget it was my generation who fought to get a decent wage, by striking, three day weeks and so on. The unions were very strong in those days. Do you think we managed to get a rise to £1 an hour by the goodness of the employers hearts? We had to fight for everything.
Be honest, look how people live today, there is a lot more money about, I have a grandchild now backpacking in Thailand, her mobile contract cost more a month than our first car cost and I say good luck to her. I didn't know where Thailand was at her age, I was hampered with a mortgage and two kids but Its changing times, and as people, our values have changed too.
Some would say for the better?