House prices 'stress workers out'

Spiralling London house prices have created an exhausted and isolated population forced to live miles from where they work and socialise, a report claims today.

Employees spend more time commuting than in any other area of the country, and are less likely to feel at home in their neighbourhood.

The London Housing Federation report paints a stark picture of the difficulties facing would-be homeowners.

While average salaries in London have risen by 21 per cent since 1999, house prices have gone up 58 per cent.

To afford the average London property price of £251,368, a buyer would need a salary of £68,228, more than twice the average for the capital.

Even in Barking and Dagenham, the cheapest borough, the cost of a home at the bottom of the housing ladder has soared from £54,375 to £123,000.

In Kensington and Chelsea, the most expensive borough, the average home costs almost £670,000. A salary of more than £181,000 would be required for the mortgage - but the average income in the borough is just over £31,000.

Desperate buyers are taking out mortgages of up to 10 times their salary - experts recommend the ratio should be no more than 3.5 - and even then are often forced to live in far-flung boroughs.

"Due to the lack of housing choice, people live far from their places of work and so spend more time each day travelling than anyone else in Britain," the report concludes. "People who have grown up in London often have to move away from family and friends if they want a home of their own."

Laura Hare, acting head of the LHF, said: "It is clear why Londoners are less satisfied with their lives than people in other regions. Too often high house prices and the scarcity of subsidised housing force them to live in accommodation which is overcrowded, expensive, far from work, friends and family, or otherwise unsuitable.

"High housing costs are leaving Londoners hard up, run down and stressed out. Urgent investment in housing is the only cure."