Ken Bodfish (Opinion, July 9) is out of touch with reality when he describes "young couples" struggling to buy a first home. My crowd is typical, in that we do not form such couples, especially when young, but prefer to delay any such thing.

There is work to be done and fun to be had. Moreover, it makes better economic sense for a couple to buy separate places, which is also a safeguard in the probable event that the relationship does not continue. Should a couple decide to live together, there is then a continuing investment covered by renting out one of the homes - especially as fewer people now wish to have the expense and tie of children.

If Mr Bodfish wishes to address the housing matter with any authority, he should take cognisance of the new fluidity of a society which has no wish to follow old-style patterns. Isn't this the point of Brighton and Hove?

-James Cassidy, Elm Grove, Brighton