West Berkshire and Hampshire house prices outstrip wages increase according to UK-wide research by Labour Party

Houses earn more than people in 48 per cent of local areas in the South East, Labour says, as homeownership is put further out of reach for local people.

Some of the hardest hit areas are in England are in the North, Midlands, and in rural and coastal areas, where houses have earned double or triple the amount local people earn.

According to the latest ONS statistics for house price rises in the year to July 2021, compared with the latest figures for gross annual wages, in West Berkshire the average wage is £30,751 while house prices have risen by £36,246. In Hampshire the difference is even greater, with the average wage recorded at £26,617 and house prices rising by £36,132.

The extent of the housing crisis for local people in the South East has been highlighted by Labour's Shadow Housing Secretary Lucy Powell MP, showing the housing hotspots where property price rises have pushed affordable homeownership further out of reach of first-time buyers and other local people.

Communities across the country have seen house prices increase more than the annual average wage in the last year.

The Labour Party has accused the Government of fuelling house prices through a Stamp Duty cut which advantaged second homeowners and buy-to-let landlords while pushing homeownership further out of reach for many people trying to move on or up the ladder in the places they grew up.

The party argues that the housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges facing the country with the link between work and truly affordable, secure housing broken for many renters and first-time buyers.