Housing affordability in Bracknell Forest remained unchanged over the last year, new figures show.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics show full-time employees in Bracknell Forest could expect to spend 9.1 times their annual earnings on purchasing a home in 2023 – close to the ratio of 9.3 times the year before.

The Institute for Public Policy Research said the housing crisis is not only damaging lives but also holding the economy back and called for an increased investment in genuinely affordable homes.

Last year in England, a house cost 8.3 times the average wage, while the ratio stood at 6.1 in Wales – both slightly down from 8.5 and 6.4 respectively.

While this was the second consecutive fall since 2021, these are still higher than before the pandemic in 2019, when buyers spent 7.9 and 5.8 times their annual earnings.

Senior research fellow at the IPPR Maya Singer Hobbs said: “The housing affordability crisis is damaging lives and holding back the economy.

"Its root cause is the failure to build enough homes across the country over several decades, including the failure to build enough genuinely affordable homes.”