House prices across Greater Manchester have soared so much that on average they are EIGHT TIMES the average income – leading to a generation of ‘renters’.
The average salary in the North West is £19,656, while the average house price increased to £155,781.
Yet in Trafford and neighbouring Cheshire East, prices have skyrocketed to ten times the average wage.
Katie Teasdale, North West external affairs manager for the National Housing Federation who conducted the research, said: “High house prices, rising rents and stagnant wages in the North West are not only making life extremely difficult for people living and working in the region, but they are also affecting employers and businesses and risk holding back economic growth.
“Workers in the region are becoming a generation of renters, unable to get on the housing ladder and faced with continually rising rents.”
As buying a home becomes more expensive the rise in renting costs also burns a deeper hole in Mancunians pockets and private rental costs have risen 18% in the past four years.
Ms Teasdale added: “With more support, housing associations across the North West can be real catalysts for change for local communities. They are in it for the long term and can actively drive forward a balanced economic recovery.”
While workers in the region have seen the average wage rise by just 23% between 2002 and 2012, house prices have soared more than three times as fast – by a staggering 76%.
The report blames the North West’s affordability crisis on the housing shortage in the region, with less than two thirds (64%) of the homes the region needs being built.
Each year, 17,500 new households are expected to form in the North West but in 2012/13 just 11,160 homes were built, nearly 3,000 of which by housing associations.
House prices in central parts of the city rose by 21% in 2013, far more than in the wider Greater Manchester area.
Image courtesy of Alex Pepperhill, with thanks.
