Northern buyers struggling with affordability

21-Sep-2007

Britons looking to buy their first home in the north-east are struggling with record house prices and decreasing affordability, a new study has found.

The Annual Housing Summary from the North East Regional Information Partnership (Nerip), which compiles five major house price indices, has revealed that the median price of a home in the region is now £119,000.

This compares with a lowest median price of £105,000 in the sub-region of County Durham, and the highest, of £135,000, in Northumberland.

Furthermore, prices for first time buyers have more than doubled in three years, from £40,901 in 2003 to £108,074 in 2006.

"In the government's response to the Regional Spatial Strategy, the government suggest increasing the number of houses that can be built in the region from 107,000 to 112,000 up to 2021, to help address this supply issue," commented One NorthEast head of infrastructure and environment Tom Warburton.

"The regional housing issues aren't just about the supply of homes to buy or rent, but about the quality and type of homes being built - it's important that the region develops housing stock suitable to meet the demands of the 21st century workforce," Mr Warburton added

The average north-east house price is currently the lowest in the country - £151,064 – according to the Department of Communities and Local Government's latest figures.

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