Jersey house prices hit all-time high

The average house in Jersey now costs £518,000

Average house prices in Jersey have reached the highest in the island's history.

The Jersey House Price Index shows the average property cost £518,000 at the end of 2019, up 7% from £484,000 in 2018.

The average four-bed property costs more than £1m for the first time ever, the report says.

Duncan Gibaut from Statistics Jersey said rising mortgage costs had made properties "unaffordable" since 2002.

"The average working household could not afford to service a mortgage affordably on a house of any size in 2019," he added.

The average cost of a four-bed home at the end of 2019 was £1,051,000

Jade Le Gresly, who lives in Jersey, said she and her partner would not have made it on to the property ladder without the help of their family.

"I've got friends living in three-bedroom houses just outside of London that cost less than my flat", she said.

Housing Minister Deputy Sam Mezec said he had States backing for £10m-worth of funding for new homes, but is looking for more.

He said new-builds needed to be protected from "rich investors" and offered to "those who most need it".