HOUSE prices are racing ahead of salary levels in Leeds and the rest of West Yorkshire, according to new research.
The National Housing Federation says the cost of buying a house in West Yorkshire increased by more than three times the rate of an average salary over the past 10 years – leaving thousands of people with no chance of ever getting on the housing ladder.
The research found that in 2001, the average price of a home in West Yorkshire was £72,497, with residents earning an average salary of £15,246.
In the space of 10 years the price of a home has rocketed to £149,574 – an increase of 106 per cent – whereas wages have risen just 32 per cent to £20,116, making buying a home increasingly unaffordable for thousands of workers.
Overall, West Yorkshire has seen a 56 per cent rise in the gap between house prices and wages between 2001 and 2011.
Derek Long, assistant director for the north for the National Housing Federation, said: “These shocking figures show that it is getting increasingly hard for thousands of people to buy a home of their own.
“With the gap between income and house prices having widened so substantially over the past decade, home ownership continues to be out of reach for ordinary families, and looks set to continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
“A shortage of homes means the price to buy them is being pushed ever higher by the market, and out of reach of thousands of hard working families.
“Unless we start building more homes people can truly afford to match the demand, this will only get worse.”
In Leeds, house prices went up by 98 per cent from £83,803 to £166,035, where wages have increased by 41 per cent.
In Wakefield house prices went up by 100 per cent from £66,180 to £132,598 while wages increased by 25 per cent.
During the same period, securing a mortgage also became a lot harder, with the size of deposit needed in the county rising by up to 435 per cent.
In 2001, the deposit for a typical 90 per cent mortgage was £7,250. By 2011, the deposit needed for a typical 75 per cent mortgage leapt to £37,393.
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