´óÏó´«Ã½

But ringing in my ears is the interview with Andrew which I caught whilst my colleague was editing. We're also putting it in this week's podcast [available from 1pm Friday] so you won't have to miss it.

Andrew's interview puts the human face or at least voice on what would otherwise be a story about statistics - and it comes as the calls on politicians to make housing a top priority.

Referring to the transfer of council housing stock, used his Christmas message to appeal to housing organisations to provide for the needs of the homeless, people like Andrew, and not just existing tenants.

Having said that, the same tenants and would-be homebuyers have been speaking up on this blog; Mark told us it's just as hard to find an affordable place to rent let alone buy.

This summer we also blogged about a homes shortage in Wales - 40,000 more affordable properties are apparently needed. And then there are the claims that parts of Wrexham is becoming a '' with numbers of multi-occupany homes rising due to the influx of migrant workers.

So what's to be done?

Pressure group has been making a stand at Rhostyllen, Wrexham, fighting plans for a housing development on land owned by the . Cymuned wants to ensure any new homes really are and they're determined to make their point [].

And while such properties may help Mark - what about people in Andrew's situation?

Meanwhile, there's another group worried. Without the support of a group like Cymuned, families and pensioners living in council homes on Caia Park, Wrexham, [still Queen's Park to the locals] are wondering if there could be a change of landlord sometime soon. The [you'll need to be a member to view] has had a couple of queries under the headline 'stock transfer' as people seek clarification over rumours. Over in Flintshire, however, the council is already planning on .

Life appears to be just as uncertain for the private homeowner in Wales, according to housing charity :

Many households in Wales will face an uncertain Christmas this year because of mortgage arrears and the threat of repossessions. ´óÏó´«Ã½ assisting and advising people in mortgage arrears has more than trebled over the past three years and we expect to see an even bigger growth in 2008 as more people come to the end of fixed term deals.

The rise in Wales to over 8,000 court actions by lenders last year has been proportionally higher than the rest of the UK in recent years. This year’s figures are likely to be even higher and we are concerned that this upward trend may continue next year.

Only tonight my feed reader [what's this?] flagged up another new blog relating to Welsh housing, this time it was from writing under the banner . Jeff makes the case for a , following a model run by the government in Finland.

Have you got any thoughts or answers?