I’ve got to admit, it’s been a while since I’ve had any direct experience of the property market and what it’s like to buy and sell a house – about 25 years – so yes, I knew things had changed, yes, I knew prices had dramatically increased, and yes, I knew a lot of the stuff I took for granted in the 90s no longer applied. But even so, I’ve been surprised, and a bit disturbed, by what it’s really like out there.

The reason I’ve been out and about looking at the market is because my godchildren, who are working and studying in Glasgow, would like to buy a flat together and have asked me to help them look for something. I said yes, firstly because I want to help, but secondly and mainly because I’m nosey and want to get a look in other people’s houses. We’ve seen quite a few places now, mainly flats owned by young people, and my questions are these: when did vinyl get so popular again? where did all the dinner tables go? and why isn’t furniture brown anymore?

The other takeaway lesson is the prices. I realise there’s nothing smugger than someone who bought in the 90s then watched prices rise, but I bought my first one-bedroom tenement flat in Shawlands in 1994 for £44k, but I see a similar flat in the same block is on sale today at offers over £200,000. The godchildren have been looking in Dennistoun but even there a two-bedroom can be £200k. I asked an agent the other day what it would cost to rent a one-bedroom in Dennistoun or Shawlands and the answer was £900-1000 a month (and Dennistoun and Shawlands used to be the areas where you could find a bargain).

And we know the consequences: young people in their twenties often cannot afford to buy a starter one-bedroom flat. When I bought in Shawlands in the 90s, I was on £16k a year which meant I........

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