First-time buyers need to earn £44k to afford home by 2020
First-time buyers in Lancashire will need to earn at least 44 thousand pounds a year to afford a home by the year 2020.
First-time buyers in Lancashire will need to earn at least 44 thousand pounds a year to afford a home by the year 2020.
That's according to the housing charity Shelter who are predicting that house prices will continue to rise faster than people's wages.
They're urging the government to build more affordable housing for people on average incomes.
The research looked at the salary and deposit needed for the average first time buyer today, and calculated what they would be in 2020 if they grew in line with projected increases in house prices. These figures come as over the last five years, the region’s severe housing shortage has seen house prices rise three times faster than wages. As the Government’s Housing Bill passes through the House of Lords, Shelter is warning that, unless the government commits to building homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford, the situation is only likely to get worse. Campbell Robb, Shelter’s Chief Executive, said: “When house prices are increasing three times faster than the average wage, it’s no wonder people on ordinary incomes are being locked out of a home of their own. “With the situation only set to get worse, Generation Rent will be forced to resign themselves to a life in expensive, unstable private renting, and wave goodbye to their dreams of a home to put down roots in. “It doesn’t have to be like this. The Government has the power to turn our housing crisis around, but only if they stop with schemes like Starter Homes which only help higher earners, and start investing in homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford to live in.”