Homes 'earn' more than their owners

Homes have "earned" more money than their owners in almost one fifth of areas across the UK as the housing market recovery has taken off, research has found.

Over the last two years, average house prices have increased by more than the amounts that employees have typically earned after tax in 73 out of 384 local authority districts across the UK, according to the research by Halifax.

Eight out of the top 10 places where house price increases have raced ahead of earnings in the last two years were in London, where the market now appears to be catching its breath after prices there surged when the recovery initially took hold, while the remaining two places were in the South East.

The biggest difference was found in Hammersmith and Fulham, where house price increases have outstripped typical take-home earnings over the last two years by more than £143,000.

The average house in Hammersmith and Fulham has piled nearly £200,000 on to its value in two years, while someone living in the area would have earned just under £57,000 net over the same period of time.

In Wandsworth, properties typically have earned £102,000 more than the typical wage over the last two years and in Ealing the difference is more than £90,000.

In eight local authority districts across the UK, the increase in house prices over the last two years has outstripped the amount someone would have typically earned over the period by more than £80,000.

House prices have also been rising faster than people can typically earn a wage in areas beyond just London and the surrounding commuter belt, with strong property price growth having also been seen in some of the country's most picturesque landscapes.

Halifax said that in Monmouthshire in Wales, house prices have typically increased by £47,449 over the last two years, while average local earnings over the period have been lower, at £45,047.

Over the English border, in the Cotswold local authority district in the south west of England, the average property price has increased by £72,920 over the last two years, while typical earnings over the period have amounted to £41,698.

Across the UK as a whole, the average wage taken home over the last two years amounts to £42,633, which is just over £8,500 higher than the average house price increase over the same time period, at £34,097.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said that while the rising price of property may come as "good news" to people who already own their own home, it also reflects the scale of the battle that people trying to take their first step on the property ladder have on their hands as they try to keep up with house price inflation in areas where competition for homes is particularly strong.

Mr Ellis said: "It is challenging news for those looking to buy their first home in such areas, with prices being pushed out of range for many young people."

Halifax used its own house price database as well as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) covering average earnings to make the findings.

Here are the top 10 places where houses have "earned" more than the average local wage over the last two years, with the increase in house prices followed by the average amount earned over two years and the difference:

1. Hammersmith and Fulham, London, £199,930, £56,698, £143,232

2. Wandsworth, London, £161,105, £58,345, £102,760

3. Ealing, London, £136,895, £46,494, £90,400

4. Kensington and Chelsea, London, £156,388, £66,746, £89,642

5. Elmbridge, South East, £145,512, £56,909, £88,603

6. South Buckinghamshire, South East, £139,249, £51,692, £87,557

7. Hackney, London, £135,072, £49,622, £85,449

8. Richmond upon Thames, London, £140,402, £59,353, £81,049

9. Southwark, London, £130,561, £51,391, £79,170

10. Brent, London, £124,464, £45,672, £78,792

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