If you rent or know anyone who does, you would know costs are soaring and there's barely anything on the market, while the wait for public housing can be more than a decade. 

Meanwhile, the Airbnb and holiday rental world is booming, where there are tens of thousands of properties ready for short-term lease. 

So how did we get to this point? 

And how do we get out of it? 

Today, the ABC news finance guy, Alan Kohler, on how successive governments ruined the golden era of housing. 

Featured: 

Alan Kohler, ABC news finance presenter and founder, Eureka Report and The Constant Investor