Workers
on average earnings are being priced out of the housing market across the
country, according to an investigation by Labour Research.
It
finds that the problem, already identified in London and the South East, has
now spread across large tracts of England and Wales.
The
study claims there are only 51 counties and unitary authorities out of a total
of 171 where a man on an average male income for the area can afford a house.
For women there are just seven.
It
also shows that two people on average earnings buying a property together,
having obtained a 5 per cent deposit, would be unable to afford an average
house in 59 out of the 171 areas.
Outside
London and the South East the worst area in which to buy a home for two people
on average earnings is Bath and North East Somerset, where house prices average
£161,863 and salaries average just £21,732.
The
other most expensive areas in relation to average salaries are Rutland in the
East Midlands, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Poole, Herefordshire, Solihull, Devon and
Monmouthshire.
