FUTURE home buyers looking to put a foot on the property ladder in the area are struggling as new figures show the gap between earnings and house prices is getting bigger.


The latest statistics released by PricedOut and published in The Guardian, reveal that the average house price in the SL5 district, covering Ascot, Sunninghill and Sunningdale, is £492,500.


However, with the national average salary at only £25,000, this means people would be forced to pay 19.7 times their wage packet to secure a home and would need at least £121,605 to afford it.


The cheapest property comes in at £91,000 with the most expensive at £5,300,000. 


The gap between income and house prices has sky-rocketed so much in the last 20 years that many young professionals are struggling to buy their own property and others feel they are being "priced out" of their region.


Richard Cracknell, owner of Edwards and Elliott based in Ascot, Sunningdale and Windlesham, said: "The figures are a small picture as London and the South East are generally affluent so people tend to earn more than the national average.


"However, it is still not easy for people to get on the property ladder and it is a problem that can only be solved by increasing housing in general. 


"At the end of the day, high prices are dedicated by supply and demand and at the moment we have such a massive shortfall, particularly in terms of private investment coming in.


"We also have very planning restrictive planning laws in the South East and in this area we have got green belt land that we can't build in and until more land is released for housing the situation will remain out of balance."


He added: "Because so many properties have been sold for letting, through the Buy to Let scheme, even though it is just as important, it means that a lot of houses have been taken out of the for sale market."

 
He suggested, however, that many parents in the area are able can afford to help their children buy and many young professionals are earning higher salaries themselves. 


A spokeswoman for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead said: "Together with our partners in the housing associations that cover the Royal Borough we are constantly seeking to provide additional affordable housing. 


"The issue as always is that property prices and development costs are very high which forces us to be more innovative."