| A Home in Fulham is Beyond the Reach of Key Workers |
Our borough is second least affordable area in country Buying a home in Hammersmith and Fulham is still beyond the reach of many key workers, who include teachers, nurses, paramedics, police officers and firefighters. In fact the newly released Halifax Key Worker Housing Review found that our borough is one of the least affordable areas in the whole country, second only to neighbouring Kensington and Chelsea. The report classifies an area as affordable if the average house price there is lower than the price a key worker on average earnings can afford to pay. If the average house price is less than four times average earnings, it is considered affordable, if it is over four times it is not. Out of 493 towns surveyed nationwide, including 32 London boroughs, Kensington and Chelsea came out as the least affordable, with a house price to earnings ratio of 14.9. This was followed by Hammersmith and Fulham with 13.8 and Westminster with 13.6. In fact in the whole of London, Barking and Dagenham is the only London borough where flats are affordable for key workers, with a ratio of 3.65. The survey found that the majority of towns across the country remain too expensive for typical key workers, though the situation has improved in some areas. Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax said: " Nearly one in six towns has become affordable for the average key worker since then due to a combination of lower house prices and increased earnings. Another striking feature is that all of the affordable towns are outside southern England, which means that key public sector workers are still heavily constrained in the housing market in the South." The report is based on the following average annual salaries:
The Key Worker Living scheme was launched by the Government in 2004 to help certain public sector employees to buy a home, upgrade to a family home or rent a home at an affordable price. June 3, 2009 |