House prices are at their highest in Hampshire for the last three years.

Whoopee.

The average price of a family home in the county now sits at £220,000.

Marvellous.

Boom not bust.

Only, and I hate to mention this amid the back slapping and sighs of relief, but don’t high house prices sort of make it harder for anyone to get on the housing ladder? And didn’t we learn that booming property markets can lead to a bubble that eventually leads to the downfall of economies? And didn’t we pledge that after the last debacle – the one we are still trying to climb out of – we would find a better way of running our lives and not base everything on bricks and mortar?

Or was that then – and this is the oh so familiar now.

I’m delighted that house prices are not falling and the banks appear to be lending again and people feel confident enough to move home and take out mortgages. But let’s be careful out there.