First step proves so expensive

FIRST-TIME buyers struggling to get on the property ladder must borrow up to six times their annual salary to make it, says a report.

The average income of local people is £18,205 - but with an average house costingh £120,027, buyers need to borrow 6.6 times their wages, on top of a substantial deposit.

House prices in the region have jumped more than 3.5 times faster than earnings over the past decade.

The news comes from a report published by the National Housing Federation (NHF) which found that the North-West has the fastest growing social housing waiting lists in the country and 30,000 more empty homes than anywhere else.

Rents in the private sector are also expected to rise by 46 per cent in the North-West over the next 10 years which could worry those currently trapped in the rental market.