The housing market in England is broken, with more social and affordable housing urgently needed, according to a new report.
The National Housing Federation has published a hard-hitting report, which spells out the true extent of the housing crisis taking hold across the country.
For young professionals and low income families alike, the triple whammy of high house prices, rising private rents and a lack of affordable housing are making living in most regions unsustainable.
The Federation, which represents England's housing associations, warns the fundamental problem remains a chronic under-supply of homes, which has to be addressed urgently.
Federation assistant director Kate Dodsworth said: "An entire generation has been locked out of a broken market.
She warned that across most parts of the country, the ‘affordability gap' could well be set to worsen as the gulf between supply and demand continues to grow.
The research work into affordability paints a picture where new housing remains out of reach for many people.
To fix the broken housing market, the Federation is supporting the call to make a renewed commitment to building the homes we need at scale and identify housing as a key driver for economic activity.
It also wants to see a reformed planning system that supports the building of affordable homes, ensuring private developers continue to build social housing on sites of private development through the use of planning gain.
It also wants to see the Government ensure that councils undertake robust housing needs assessments on which to base future development plans.
Affordability around the regions
- North West: Average wage stands at £19,828, an average house costs 8.1 times the average income. There are over 250,000 households on social housing waiting lists.
- North East: Average wage stands at £19,120, while an average house costs 7.5 times this figure. Some 77,000 households are now languishing on social housing waiting lists.
- Yorkshire and Humber: It requires 2.1 times the average income in Yorkshire and Humberside - around £41,520 - to obtain a mortgage for the average property. Homelessness rose for the first time in seven years and 4,420 households are registered homeless.
- West Midlands: The average home in the region costs £177,913 - nine times the average wage. Affordability is an even greater problem in rural parts of the West Midlands where the average home costs 11 times the average local income.
- East Midlands: The average home in the region costs £164,921 - more than eight times the average local wage of £19,947. There are also over 123,000 households on waiting lists.
- East of England: Average property now 10.8 times the average income
- South West: The average home in the region now costs almost 12 times the average wage. There are also over 148,000 households on waiting lists.
- South East: Average property now costs 12.4 times the average income of £22,870, with the average property rising £30,000 over the previous year. A salary of £60,938 is needed to obtain a 75% mortgage at 3.5 times income.
- London: The average Londoner would need to triple their salary to £87,000 to buy an average price property. An average property costs £408,384 - more than 15 times the average income at £27,128.
