HOUSE PRICES TWELVE TIMES SALARY IN SOMERTON AND FROME - HEATH

12.00.00am GMT Tue 30th Oct 2007

David Heath, MP for Somerton and Frome, has expressed his dismay at the rate at which house prices are rising. As part of their 'Home Truths' campaign, the National Housing Federation has released figures that show that the average house price in Somerton and Frome has increased from £66,801 in 1996 to £216,090 in 2006, a rise of 323%.

Average earnings in the constituency are only £17,940 per annum. This means that in 2006 the average house price in Somerton and Frome was 12 times the average salary.

Commenting David said:

"You don't have to be an economist to realise that a 323% rise in house prices over a ten year period is a serious problem.

This Government's chronic mismanagement of the country's housing stock and the policies of the Conservatives before them have left a generation unable to get on the housing ladder and millions languishing on council waiting lists.

It is a disgrace that house prices in my constituency are twelve times the average salary. It makes me sad that people who have lived in this area all their lives are unable to buy a house close to their roots.

I worry that my kids won't be able to afford a house in the village that they grew up in and I'm worried for my constituents' kids, for whom buying a house in this part of Somerset may be an impossible dream."