York residents priced out of housing market - councillor

A widening gap between house prices and wages in York is a "huge problem", with potential buyers "priced out" of the market, a councillor has warned.

The median house price was £300,000 in 2023, £265,891 more than the median earnings of £34,109, according to the Office for National Statistics.

In 1997, the average price was £57,500, with average earnings of £15,502.

City of York Council's Michael Pavlovic called on the government to commit to a "significant number" of new homes.

Mr Pavlovic, executive member for housing, said: "These figures show earnings have increased by 220%, but the price of a home by more than five times over the past 25 years.

"This shows us housing affordability has become a huge problem in York, one that's pricing out the next generation of homeowners."

He said the impact was a "decline in the standard of living" for those working hard and aspiring to own their own homes, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Mr Pavlovic believed a government commitment to a "significant number" of new homes across the country could change the situation.

The data showed that York had the highest average house prices in Yorkshire and the Humber, with a similar affordability rate as some areas in the south of England, such as Milton Keynes and Cheltenham.

Adam Corlett, principal economist at think tank the Resolution Foundation, said: "Britain's housing crisis is likely to be a big topic in the election campaign, as parties debate how to address the problems of high costs, poor quality and low security that face so many households.

"Britain is one of many countries apparently in the midst of a housing crisis, and it can be difficult to separate rhetoric from reality.

"But by looking at housing costs, floor space and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK's expensive, cramped and ageing housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy.

"Britain's housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock. That now has to change."

The government's latest budget announcement included measures for housing, such as a £20m investment in social finance which would "build up to 2,000 to 3,000 new homes" and "improve the capacity of local community groups to deliver housing".

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