House prices could rise to ten times salary
Homebuyers of the future could face average house prices that are ten times their salaries if more houses are not built, an independent housing body has warned.
Research from the newly-established National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) found that more than a third of non-homeowners think they will never be able to buy.
A further fifth believe it will take them at least five years before they can take their first steps on the property ladder.
Their despair is in the context of UK house prices continuing to outstrip salary increases.
Government figures show that in 2000 the average cost of a home was four times annual earnings.
Steep house price hikes meant that by 2006 the typical homebuyer was looking at a home that was seven times his or her salary.
The NHPAU predicts that this is set to rise again unless supply increases.
By 2026 it estimates that house hunters will be faced with average prices ten times their yearly earnings.
© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
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