East Midlands homes cost 'eight times annual wage'

The East Midlands region needs more affordable homes, according to a survey by a housing industry group.

The National Housing Federation report said the average home in the region costs £164,921 - more than eight times the average regional wage of £19,947.

It said the average house will cost £182,600, in 2016 - an increase of 19.2% over the next five years.

The federation is calling on the government to reform the planning system to create more social housing.

The average cost of a home in Derbyshire costs just £160,000 - almost 8 times the average wage in the county of £20,618.

'Tough ride'

In Lincolnshire, the average home costs £157,639 - 8.2 times the average individual income of £19,323.

In contrast, the average house price in Devon and Cornwall was 13 times the average annual individual wage, an earlier federation survey showed.

The federation warns that urgent action is needed to address what it calls the affordability gap.

'With house prices expected to rise, private sector rents predicted to rocket, unemployment on the up and benefits set to be slashed, low and middle income households in the region are in for an extremely tough ride," federation spokesman Lindsey Williams said.

The federation has also called for local councils to undertake housing needs assessments for their areas.

The report also said almost 124,000 households were on social housing waiting lists in the East Midlands.

The level of home ownership in the region is expected to drop to 70% in 2021.