Nothing has really changed Eric, it has always been a struggle to get on the housing ladder, the problem nowadays is that the young are less inclined to make the effort and save the deposit rather preferring to spend their money on clubbing and bingeing on wine and gadgets.
When I married in 1952 we went to the Birmingham housing office and asked to be put on the waiting list for a council house, we were told bluntly "Come back and see us again when you've got four kids."
We lived with my wife's mother saved hard and had enough for a deposit by 1956 despite having a child and being in low paid work.
The sale of council houses hasn't reduced the number of houses available, they didn't pull them down just moved the ownership and the responsibility of maintaining them, what did reduce the numbers was the widespread demolition of whole areas in what was in some cases a dubious slum clearance programme.