GMB call for vote for Labour in Brighton Kemptown as new study show average house prices are 11.5 times average earnings in Brighton

9 May 2017 Download as PDF

GMB call for vote for Labour in Brighton Kemptown as new study show average house prices are 11.5 times average earnings in Brighton.

Labour Party is pledging to build one million homes with half of them council housing as these figures show that more council homes for rent in Brighton are absolutely essential says GMB
GMB Members in Brighton want to see the return of a labour government to build new council housing as a new GMB study shows that they have been priced out of the Brighton housing market. In Brighton average house prices are 11.5 times the average earnings of a full time worker living in the area.
A GMB study released today shows that workers on average earnings in the Sussex area are priced out of the housing market in all 13 areas, showing current average house prices in the area are between 8.2 and 12.4 times average earnings.

In the South East as a whole, the average house price in February 2017 was £311,539 which is 10.1 times the average full time earnings of £30,752. House prices are rising at a much faster pace than earnings with the house price to earnings ratio now 8.2 on average across the whole of England.
Average house prices in the South East increased by 5.4% in the year to February 2017.

The situation is most extreme in Chichester where average house prices are 12.4 times average earnings, 12x in Adur, 11.5x in Brighton and Hove, 11.2x in Horsham and 11.1x in Mid Sussex.

A ratio of 4.5 times a borrower’s income is regarded as the maximum that banks and building societies will lend.
Paul Maloney, GMB Southern region secretary, is attending the launch of the general election campaign by Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the Labour Party candidate for Brighton Kemptown on Tuesday 9th May at 7.30pm at the Whitehawk Football Club.
The launch is taking place at the following address
Whitehawk FC Ground
The Enclosed Ground
East Brighton
Brighton
Sussex
BN2 5TS
Set out in the table below are house price data and average earnings for all authorities in Brighton and East and West Sussex ranked by areas with the highest ratio. See notes to editors for sources and definitions.
Average property price – February 2017
Median full time earnings – 2016
ratio

England
£234,466
£28,503
8.2

South East
£311,539
£30,752
10.1

1
Chichester
£373,516
£30,074
12.4
2
Adur
£296,121
£24,677
12.0
3Brighton and Hove
£349,183
£30,314
11.5
4
Horsham
£374,533
£33,414
11.2
5
Mid Sussex
£369,563
£33,146
11.1
6
Wealden
£328,180
£30,104
10.9
7
Rother
£276,802
£26,640
10.4
8
Arun
£270,149
£26,137
10.3
9
Lewes
£297,735
£29,457
10.1
10
Worthing
£265,250
£27,994
9.5
11
Crawley
£272,061
£29,714
9.2
12
Eastbourne
£235,312
£26,401
8.9
13
Hastings
£195,301
£23,864
8.2
Paul Maloney, GMB Southern region secretary, said
“GMB Southern region analysis of average house prices to average earnings in Brighton and the rest of Sussex shows that the aspirations of working people on average earnings and below to own their own homes is no longer achievable.
“The Labour Party election manifesto pledges to build one million homes in the next Parliament with half of them council housing. These figures show that more council homes for rent by Brighton and Hove city council are absolutely essential.
“GMB is calling on the electorate in Brighton to get behind Lloyd Russell-Moyle the Labour Party candidate in Brighton Kemptown to realise this manifesto commitment.”
“We have been talking about this problem for far too long, there can be no excuses for not providing housing to people that they can afford to live in on average wages.”