Property prices are 10 times salary

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by Kay Murchie

An independent housing body has advised that the future generation of homebuyers could face average house prices that are 10 times their salary. Buying a home could be become unattainable unless the number of homes being built increases.

A study from new National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) said that a fifth of non-homeowners think it will take them at least 5 years before they are able to buy and more than a third believe that they will never get onto the property ladder.

The NHPAU was set up by the Government to provide independent advice on improving housing market affordability. Government statistics illustrate that in the year 2000, the average cost of a home was four times the annual salary. However, by 2006, house price increases meant that homebuyers were looking at seven times their salary.

The demand for housing is on the increase and something must be done or the pressure on the market will only deteriorate. On a further study of 2,700 UK adults, NHPAU discovered that the majority states the government need to take action to make housing more affordable.