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Cost of Housing
January 2008
One of the county’s leading housing associations has warned that more affordable homes need to be built to curb the growing crisis of people on housing waiting lists in Essex.
Colchester based Colne Housing has issued the stark warning following figures recently released by the National Housing Federation which revealed that 29,538 households are on housing waiting lists in Essex. The highest in the East of England. In most parts of Essex housing waiting lists have more than doubled in the last five years, and in Brentwood and Chelmsford lists have trebled.
Within the East of England over 135,000 households are waiting for a suitable home.
The report predicts even more misery for those wanting to get a foot on the property ladder, with an average house price of £223,000 for the county. This is over 10 times the average income of people working in the area.
Mark Powell Davies, Chief Executive of Colne Housing said: “These figures are very worrying indeed. It is vital that local authorities grasp the nettle and increase the supply of affordable housing in their planning requirements, and that government provides the necessary funding. Although the recent fall in house prices will go someway to adjust the balance the fact remains that for most families or couples the chances of buying a property are far out of their financial reach.”
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