Homes break the £200,000 barrier
The price of the average house price has breached the £200,000 barrier for the first time, confirming Britain as one of the most expensive countries to buy a home.
Property prices have jumped nearly 200 per cent over the past decade, according to figures released yesterday by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
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In 2000, the average home reached the £100,000 mark. Now it stands at £201,090 nationwide - and £296,160 in London.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors described the figure as 'a psychological barrier which will further the woes of first-time buyers'.
A worker on the average salary of £25,000 would have to borrow a mortgage of eight times their earnings to buy at current levels.
The Government figures, which are for December, show first-time buyers are now spending an average of £155,120.
The Halifax has put the figure for first-time buyers in London at £250,819. This would also attract stamp duty of just over £7,500.
Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight, said not just first-time buyers were in trouble because of soaring prices.
He warned: "There are signs that many people are finding it harder to move up the property ladder."
Nearly all experts agree the housing market will slow down this year. Halifax, Britain's biggest mortgage lender, expects prices to rise just 4 per cent.
