Staff 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 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 earning average salaries buying a property
together, having ob-tained a 5 per cent deposit, would be unable to afford an
average house in 59 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 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.
