Choice time is almost upon us, as we once again take to the ballot boxes to decide which political party we wish to take control of the country for the next 4 or 5 years. However, experts are predicting the lowest voter turnout in history. One of the biggest reasons for voters failing to turn up on polling day is apathy caused by a feeling that there isn't really any urgent need for change. Whether or not you agree with the changes that they themselves have made, Labour has certainly brought homeownership and housing issues back to the front of the public agenda, with a wide range of ongoing policies in the area.

Some of the main policy areas that have been in the news under the current government include:

If you ask anyone inside the Labour party, they will probably tell you that the biggest thing that has been done to help homeowners over the past four years is to create a platform of economic stability that has led to low inflation, low interest rates and increased disposable income. One symptom of the financial health of homeowners is the fact that the number of properties repossessed last year was, at 22,000 homes, the lowest since 1989.

Fundamental in helping the government achieve their targets has been the devolution of interest-rate decision making to the Monetary Policy Committee. Keeping interest rates under Treasury control opened up decision making to influence from non-economic factors and Labour is to be applauded for allowing the decisions to take on a purely economic outlook.

The results have been pretty conclusive. Although inflation has actually under-performed, running at 2 percent or below for the past two years, interest rates have brought down mortgage repayments to much more affordable levels. Although they rose five times, to 7.5%, in the first year of the Blair government, the average level for the duration of the terms is just 6.5 percent, compared with 11.3% under Conservative government.

The Homes Bill is the second area that most readily springs to mind when you think of the last four years and housing policy. One of the main strands of the now in-limbo legislation concerns the introduction of the seller's pack.

The legislation has not been without its detractors. A lack of full consultation, failure to address some of the major problems in the homebuying process and disproportionate cost to sellers of low value homes are some of the criticisms that have been levied.

The failure of the legislation to make it through parliament may ultimately come as a blessing to labour should they be re-elected. It will give them a chance to take stock of the situation and make changes to the legislation in response to the criticism. It is certainly a good thing that the government is trying to do its bit to end gazumping and speed the homebuying process and if they can get the details right, this could end up being a historical piece of legislation.

The Commonhold and Leasehold reform bill is further evidence of Labours ongoing policy of trying to break down existing power structures that are commonly abused. The new bill will affect millions of people living in flats and apartments, making it easier for them to buy individual freeholds. The legislation should also encourage the tenants in a block of flats to group together to purchase the freehold on the entire building and form a company to manage the shared areas within a property without the intervention of greedy landlords.

The leasehold tenancy has long been subject of opposition. It is unique to the UK and is widely criticised due to the difficult it causes in obtaining a mortgage for a property nearing the end of its lease. It also provides the opportunity for unscrupulous landlords to impose excessive and unfair maintenance charges for a very basic service. While it has often been difficult for tenants to prove such allegations and take control of the freehold on the property it is hoped that the Commonhold lease will improve the situation for many as affected tenants can utilise 'the right to manage' their own property without having to prove any negligence on behalf of the landlord or owning the Commonhold.

E-conveyancing is an ambitious scheme that will radically change the way that property is bought and sold in this country. When coupled with the new seller's packs, e-conveyancing should dramatically cut the time between the acceptance of an offer on a property and the completion of the sale, with the whole process taking a matter of days rather than months.

The ultimate goal of the initiative is to allow all of the legal work involved in the transfer of property ownership to be carried out electronically. This includes local authority and land registry searches, drafting, amending, exchanging and even signing contracts, right the way through to finally registering the title at the HM Land registry.

Labour has taken on the task of putting the life back into Britain's cities and stemming the population migration away from the many urban areas around the country. The policy of urban renewal comprises a huge variety of initiatives, but in a nutshell, the driving goal is to make Britain's cities better places to live. This involves earmarking huge sums of cash for massive rebuilding projects, offering favourable incentives to attract investment from property developers in the private sector, the introduction of affordable housing targets, as well as ensuring that parkland and green areas help keep the physical environment pleasant.

Far from being restricted to deprived areas of London, urban renewal projects are underway in cities up and down the country, with Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and Newcastle all feeling the benefit. There is also the new millennium communities project to consider, which has seen the establishment of entirely new sustainable developments in previously derelict areas.

However, Labour has not had it all its own way. Labour was solely responsible for abolishing the MIRAS mortgage tax relief scheme, which essentially took a sizeable chunk off every homeowner's mortgage repayments, something which obviously wasn't universally popular.

Another common criticism from the point of view of many homeowners is the escalation in stamp duty, with charges reaching 3 percent on properties worth over £250,000. This is barely above the average price in the South East, and the additional costs far outweigh any potential cost savings that will arise from the quickening of the homebuying process and the introduction of the seller's pack.

There have also been serious objections from environmentalists and the rural communities regarding the continuing erosion of greenbelt land. The government has been forced to backtrack several times over its targets for new home building in some greenbelt areas and is still facing stiff opposition from some notable local councils. Rural homeowners are also keen to see the government act to stem the influx of wealthy city dwellers to country towns and villages, as the resultant upsurge in house prices is preventing many local people from entering the housing market.

Another area of criticism that Labour have little defence for is in their treatment of elderly homeowners. Over the past year alone approximately 70,000 people have been forced to sell their home to pay for residential care. This is substantially more than the figure of 40,000 recorded in 1995 and made worse given the criticism by Tony Blair of the Conservatives for similar set of figures at the last election.

At the end of the day many of the detailed policies will be forgotten if people perceive themselves to be better or worse off than they were under the previous government. Given that many homeowners are sitting pretty on top of large capital increases in the value of their property, it is hard to see how too many people will be convinced that labour has been bad for homeowners.

The average price of a house in the UK when Tony Blair's Government was elected was £58,196. This has now risen to £87,267, representing a 50 percent increase in the four years since Labour came to power. This compares with an 12% increase during the previous Government's five-year term. Looking further back the rise is similar to the increases seen under Conservative governments in 1979-1983 and 1983-1987.

With the exception of those working in the manufacturing and industrial sectors, which have struggled as a result of the effect that the strong pound has had on exports and inward investment, it seems clear that the majority of people are financially better off than they were four years ago. Against this backdrop, it seems highly unlikely that the voters are going to come out in sufficient force to overturn the strong labour majority and vote in an untried Conservative party that seems plagued by internal bickering.