London house buyers spend 13 times salary

FIRST-TIME buyers in London are spending 13 times their annual wages on property because of sky-high prices.

An Office for National Statistics study found the capital is easily the most expensive region in England and Wales.

By contrast in the North East, where houses are most affordable, starter home prices are only 5.5 times the average firsttime buyer’s income.

London has been the least affordable region for first-time buyers in 14 of the last 19 years and the gap has been getting worse, the ONS said. In 1999, buyers in London only had to spend 3.9 times their annual salary to get on the housing ladder.

But today, the average Londoner between the ages of 22 and 29 earns £25,780, yet the average starter house price is £336,000.

Experts warned the figures should spur the Government into action. Robert Colvile, of the Centre for Policy Studies, said: ‘The housing crisis is arguably the greatest political, social and economic problem this country faces.

‘We must do everything we can to help young people afford homes.’

In February, the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned just one in four young adults on mid-ranking incomes now owns their own house - down from two-thirds in 1995.

The second and third most unaffordable areas are the South East and East, where starter house prices are 11.8 and 11.2 times earnings respectively.