House prices outstrip salaries

In Yorkshire, more than a quarter of couples under the age of 40 cannot afford to buy even the most modest of homes, according to a new report produced for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The latest figures from Halifax suggest house prices in Yorkshire have risen by 12.5% in the last 12 months and 140% in the last five years. The average house price in Yorkshire is now just under £140,000 although this remains substantially less than the national figure of £178,000

Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis said: "We are seeing house prices that are five times average earnings in Yorkshire and that is higher than any time in the last 20 years. It is making it extremely difficult for people to get into the market.

Its not just Yorkshire that has affordibilty problems, throughout the UK people on average salaries are struggling to buy houses. House prices in East Anglia have rocketed to nearly seven times the average salary - and mortgage repayments now account for nearly half of most people's wages, and in Scotland mortgage repayments account for one third of monthly income with properties in Edinburgh 6.85 times annual salaries.