PRESS RELEASE

130% SALARY INCREASE NEEDED IN THE EAST OF ENGLAND TO AFFORD A HOME

Only those earning upwards of £65,000 a year can now afford the average mortgage in the East of England, a new report from the National Housing Federation says today. With the mean salary now set at £28,000, the typical worker would need a staggering £37,000 pay rise (130%) to get a mortgage for the average home in the region.

According to the East of England Home Truths 2016/17 report, housing costs in the East of England continue to rise, making it unaffordable for many working households to rent or buy a home. In addition, the region has a growing and ageing population. Between 2014 and 2039, it is estimated that the number of households aged 65 and over will increase by 62%, from 759,000 to 1,230,000. This is the third biggest increase behind London and the South East.

The report, which provides local data on the housing market in the East of England, reveals that the average house price is over £288,000, above the national average. This represents more than ten times the typical salary.

Compounding this is the increasingly unsustainable pressure that renting privately puts on people’s income. Private renters in the area have to fork out 33% of their income on rent to meet the average monthly rents which now total £786. This rises to over £1,400 a month in Three Rivers, leaving local people very little for other outgoings.

The report reveals one of the sources of all this misery: over 58,000 too few new homes have been built over the last five years in the region.

Home Truths 2016/17 reveals the most expensive and least expensive places to buy a home in the region.

Five most expensive areas to buy in the East of England

Area / Mean house price / Mean salary / How many times house prices are average salaries
St Albans / £545,777 / £42,489 / 12.8
Three Rivers / £520,644 / £31,746 / 16.4
Cambridge / £501,572 / £30,056 / 16.7
Hertsmere / £478,557 / £31,938 / 15
Epping Forest / £473,455 / £33,535 / 14.1

Five least expensive areas to buy in the East of England

Area / Mean house price / Mean salary / How many times house prices are average salaries
Great Yarmouth / £162,463 / £20,686 / 7.9
Fenland / £169,759 / £24,544 / 6.9
Peterborough / £176,813 / £25,085 / 7
Ipswich / £178,287 / £23,665 / 7.5
Waveney / £190,327 / £20,779 / 9.2

As a sector, housing associations are working to end the region’s crisis, completing almost 3,500 new homes, and having started building nearly 4,500 more. They built more than 40,000 homes across the country in 2015/16, 29% of all new homes in England. Housing associations have ambitions to work with Government to build thousands more new homes across the country.

Claire Astbury, External Affairs Manager for the National Housing Federation in the East of England, said:

“This year’s Home Truths figures highlight the increasingly bleak reality that local people in the East of England are confronted with daily. The fact that they would require an increase of 130% in their salary to be able to afford a typical mortgage just shows how dysfunctional the current housing market is and the extent to which it does not work for the average worker.

“Housing associations are a vital part of the solution to the housing crisis. The sector is buoyed by the additional funding and flexibility secured in the Autumn Statement and is ambitious about delivering even more homes.”

ENDS

For more information and interviews please contact Morgane Legendre, PR Officer, on 020 7067 1098 or at .

For case studies, please contact local housing associations.

National Housing Federation media team: 0207 067 1146. Out of hours: 07786 916877

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The data and all sources used are available in the report Home Truths 2016/17: The housing market in the East of England.

The National Housing Federation is the voice of affordable housing in England. We believe that everyone should have the home they need at a price they can afford. That’s why we represent the work of housing associations and campaign for better housing.

Our members provide two and a half million homes for more than five million people. And each year they invest in a diverse range of neighbourhood projects that help create strong, vibrant communities.