Buying a house unaffordable for low earners - research
People with an annual salary of less than £30,000 a year can no longer afford average house prices in more than half of all English counties, research revealed today.
The National Housing Federation said an income of more than £30,000 was now needed to buy an average property in 46 out of 87 counties.
The situation is worst in London, where Barking and Dagenham is the only borough in which people on less than £30,000 can afford to buy a house, and in all but four boroughs a salary of more than £40,000 is needed.
But the problem is not confined to London and the South East- in Hereford you would need an income of almost £37,000 to afford an average priced property on a mortgage of three times your annual salary.
In Dorset you would need to be bringing home more than £44,000 to be able to buy a house.
Liz Potter, director of the National Housing Federation, said: "The high cost of housing is putting our essential services at risk - not just in the capital but now across many areas of the country.
"The current buoyancy in the market is masking real dangers for the economy and for homes and families."
She added that the research was particularly worrying as according to recent Government statistics more than 70% of households in the UK had incomes below £30,000.
Unsurprisingly average house prices were most expensive in Kensington and Chelsea in London, where a salary of £179,851 is needed to buy a house with a 95% mortgage.
Windsor and Maidenhead had the highest prices outside London, requiring an income of nearly £79,000 to afford a house, followed by Surrey, where you would need to be earning at least £70,000.
According to the group, in 18 counties across England you would have to be earning more than £40,000 to buy an average price house.
The cheapest places to buy property were Hull, where you would need an income of £13,000 and Stoke on Trent, where you would need £13,500.
The National Housing Federation said the figures showed that the Government's £250 million Starter Home Initiative, in which it plans to help 10,000 key workers over a three-year period with the cost of buying a home, was likely to far outstrip supply.
And it added that the average grant of £25,000 towards the cost of a home would not be enough in some areas.
Ms Potter said: "Demand will inevitably outstrip supply, and without a considerable drop in house prices there has to be further Government investment in affordable homes."
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