Priced Out with David Pralong

Eighteen years. That's how long one property fund waited to get zoning permission on farmland beside a commuter town outside London. You can't afford to live in the city you work in. Developers blame construction costs, politicians blame developers, and the homes still don't get built. Keith Breslauer has spent 38 years in real estate, ten of them at Lehman Brothers buying distressed credit and property. He founded Patron Capital in 1999 and has spent 27 years investing in complex property deals across Europe. You'll hear how planning delays feed into the price of every home, through the cost of capital and the risk investors put on it. Keith explains why the UK housing crisis is a land supply problem first. He also sets out where he thinks the free market has failed buyers. David and Keith cover property development economics, NIMBYism, affordable housing and densification in London. It's for anyone priced out, anyone who votes on planning, and anyone in property who wants a sharper argument for building. Key Takeaways A political decision-maker sits in the middle of every planning application, and that one fact is why Keith now refuses a whole category of risk. The 1.5 million homes target fails before a brick is laid, because the inputs behind it point in different directions. Governments keep stalling on housing because nobody has defined whose common good they are serving. Affordable housing can be an investable product. Keith's fund for women leaving domestic abuse has bought 122 homes and housed 705 women and their families. Chapter Markers 00:00 Eighteen years to get planning permission 00:40 David introduces Keith Breslauer 02:06 From Lehman Brothers to Patron Capital 04:16 What property development involves 05:59 Why cities aren't building enough homes 09:25 Home ownership, Help to Buy and Germany 13:01 How long waits change the return 16:23 The one risk Keith won't take 18:59 Is institutional capital too expensive for housing? 22:40 NIMBYs, councils and the common good 26:26 Office conversions and knocking buildings down 32:38 Brownfield, green belt or densification 35:20 Why property can't talk to the public 38:00 A housing fund for women escaping abuse 40:27 Building homes for the middle class 44:26 Where the free market stops working 47:44 Institutional investors in UK housing 50:10 One change: align everything to the objective Useful Links & Resources Maya Capital: https://www.maya-cap.com/ David Pralong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pralong-bb7a09/ Connect With the Show YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Maya-Cap Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NpuI114H9c4QmfC4R09Pd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/priced-out-with-david-pralong/id6821938508 Should a national body be able to overrule local councils to get homes built? Or should councils keep the final say? Tell us in the comments, and send in your own planning story or a question for David. Bring this conversation home to your friends and family, then subscribe to Priced Out with David Pralong so you never miss an episode. #UKHousing #HousingCrisis #PlanningReform #AffordableHousing #RealEstate

Paris went from a city that hadn't changed in a thousand years to the City of Light in about 15 years. What it got right and wrong still applies to housing today. Priced out of the city you work in, and told nothing can change because every old building is sacred? London has turned itself into a museum, and the middle class is paying the entry fee. David Pralong takes you back to Baron Haussmann's rebuild of Paris under Napoleon III. You'll hear what worked, what nearly bankrupted the state, and what pushed the poor out of the city. Then he applies it to London today, using his SPADE levers to show how standardisation and density could put affordable housing back within reach. Expect urban planning history, a frank look at who blocks new homes, and a direct pitch to the homeowners who hold the votes. This is for anyone who cares about London housing and wants arguments built on precedent. If you want a defence of the planning status quo, look elsewhere. Key Takeaways Haussmann's first model was buy, demolish, rebuild, sell. It swallowed capital and bred corruption, until a private development model took over with no public money at all. Standardisation built Paris's most loved streets. The same intellectuals who fought it would now defend the result, which is a warning for anyone proposing change today. Paris got density and standardisation right, then failed on protection and enforcement. The result was speculative bubbles and the poorer classes pushed out. David's case for making development "boring again": when everyone knows what they can build, risk falls and so does the price. Chapter Markers 00:00 Why Paris holds lessons for housing today 00:56 Napoleon III, Haussmann and the real motive 04:27 Buy, demolish, rebuild: the state's costly model 06:06 Paris before and after the rebuild 08:48 The London rivalry and the City of Light 11:04 Standardisation, backlash and the commune model 14:39 Where Paris succeeded and failed on SPADE 17:40 How a Haussmann moment works in a democracy 20:14 Making development boring again 23:32 Museum or living city: what we keep 26:45 Who blocks new homes, and why 31:04 The argument to boomers and homeowners Useful Links & Resources Maya Capital: https://www.maya-cap.com/ David Pralong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pralong-bb7a09/ Connect With the Show YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Maya-Cap Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NpuI114H9c4QmfC4R09Pd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/priced-out-with-david-pralong/id6821938508 David argues that 60 to 80% of a city's buildings can be brought into the present. Which buildings in your city would you protect, and which would you replace? Tell us in the comments, and send your questions for David's next episode. Share this episode with a friend or family member who is priced out of the city they work in. Then subscribe to Priced Out with David Pralong so you catch the next argument. #PricedOutWithDavidPralong #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #UrbanPlanning #Haussmann

The one planning authority in Britain that reliably says yes, and what it would take for the rest of London to do the same. London's housing target last year was 88,000 homes, and only a fraction got built. If you're paying more every year to live further from work, you deserve to know whether the planning system, the voters or something else is to blame. Tom Sleigh chairs the Planning and Transportation Committee at the City of London Corporation, where business people vote alongside residents. His committee approved half a million square metres of new offices last year and was ranked third fastest in the country for decisions. You'll hear how predictability and a properly funded planning team cut risk and cost for developers. You'll get real numbers on what heritage rules cost, and a straight answer on why the property industry struggles to make its case in public. David and Tom also test the standardisation lever from the SPADE plan. This episode covers the London planning system, density, affordable housing requirements and the limits of current planning reform. It's for anyone priced out of London who wants evidence over slogans. If you want a defence of every listed view, Tom has some uncomfortable questions for you. Key Takeaways A 97% approval rate draws suspicion from journalists. Tom explains why it shows the system doing its job when developers know the local plan before they apply. Shrinking the City's tower cluster by just 2% would cost over £1bn a year in lost growth. The reason is profit margins, and it applies far beyond the Square Mile. The history of how London's protected views of St Paul's were chosen raises a pointed question about whose views they are. Standardisation built postwar Britain. Tom makes the case for which level of government could bring it back. Chapter Markers 00:00 Who really gets a vote on building 01:12 Meet Tom Sleigh, City of London Corporation 01:51 What makes the Square Mile unique 03:18 How the business vote works 04:48 How the electoral system shapes planning 05:55 The Silk Street application and Barbican residents 07:44 Planning by growth forecasts to 2050 08:57 What the rest of London can copy 10:52 Defending the British planning system 12:07 Why a 97% approval rate is healthy 13:27 Predictability, time and developer risk 15:38 Housing as infrastructure and the Goods Yard 19:15 Why density sits in the eastern cluster 21:38 The St Paul's protected views 24:23 Heritage as a political spectrum 26:45 The £1bn a year cost of 2% 28:37 Why the property industry stays quiet 32:48 SPADE, standardisation and metro mayors 35:46 Demolition, France and the Channel Tunnel 36:54 Planning reform or tinkering? 38:50 Close and how you can help Useful Links & Resources Maya Capital: https://www.maya-cap.com/ David Pralong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pralong-bb7a09/ Connect With the Show YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Maya-Cap Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NpuI114H9c4QmfC4R09Pd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/priced-out-with-david-pralong/id6821938508 Would you trade a protected view of St Paul's for £1bn a year of growth? Tell us in the comments. And if you have a question for David about how the housing system works, send it in for a future episode. Share this episode with a friend or family member who can't afford to live where they work. Then like and subscribe so you catch the next one. #PricedOutWithDavidPralong #HousingCrisis #PlanningReform #CityOfLondon #UKHousing

A London home now costs over 11 years of pre-tax earnings. It used to cost four. You work in the city, you pay into it, and you still can't afford to live in it. Your parents bought in their twenties. You might not leave home until 26, and buying is a 30s problem, if it happens at all. In this episode, David Pralong lays out the case for fixing the housing crisis from the developer's side of the table. You'll get the numbers behind London property prices, why the two standard answers keep missing the middle class, and the five reforms he believes would make affordable housing possible again. It's for renters and would-be buyers priced out of the city they love, homeowners who hold the votes, and anyone tired of slogans about the planning system. Key Takeaways After inflation, London homes cost three times what they did in 1995. A healthy market needs around 5% vacancy, and David puts most cities below 1%. Rent control and social housing each help one group. David explains the third group both leave behind, and why that group decides whether a city works. Paris was built on standardised designs, and David argues the same principle could take planning from case-by-case approval to pre-approved homes built in months. Key workers buying with no deposit, and streets voting to rebuild themselves, are two of the more radical ideas in the SPADE plan. Chapter Markers 00:00 Why new generations can't afford our cities 00:45 Housing scarcity is a supply problem 01:30 London prices up seven times since 1995 02:45 Leaving home at 26, buying in your 30s 03:30 Vacancy rates below 1% 04:15 Cities as the engine of economic growth 05:15 Why nobody has fixed this yet 06:15 Where rent control and social housing fall short 07:50 The middle class nobody is helping 08:38 Introducing the SPADE framework 08:55 Standardisation and the lessons of Haussmann's Paris 11:20 Modular building and faster delivery 12:30 Protection: homes for people who live there 16:00 Affordability: social housing and key workers 18:20 Cutting build costs and development taxes 20:30 Density: building up and street votes 24:30 Enforcement: going after the bad actors 25:40 The objections David expects 27:00 Why David made this podcast 28:00 What you can do right now Useful Links & Resources Maya Capital: https://www.maya-cap.com/ David Pralong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-pralong-bb7a09/ Connect With the Show YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Maya-Cap Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3NpuI114H9c4QmfC4R09Pd Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/priced-out-with-david-pralong/id6821938508 Which of the five levers would you push for first in your city? And which one would you fight? Tell us in the comments. If you've been priced out of where you work, or you're a homeowner who disagrees with David, we want to hear your story. Your questions shape future episodes. Subscribe to Priced Out so you don't miss the debates to come. Then take this conversation home to your friends and family, across every generation. #HousingCrisis #AffordableHousing #LondonHousing #PlanningReform #UrbanPolicy

You cannot afford to live in the city you work in, and everyone in the industry has a reason why that can never change. David Pralong is the exception. He has spent twenty years and more than €2bn building property across Europe, and he argues the system he knows best has ended up pricing people out of the cities that need them. Every episode he takes one piece of that system, explains who it quietly suits, and sets out a fix that has already worked somewhere else. Sometimes he argues it in front of the architect, the conservationist, or the politician who built a career defending the current rules. By the end you will know why a home costs what it does, and what it would take to build cities people can afford to live in.