House prices 'at most affordable for 7 years'

UK HOUSE prices are at their most affordable for seven years, it has been estimated.

Lower house prices and mortgage rates mean the average income earner can now afford to buy 58 per cent of UK homes, property value website Zoopla claimed.

It is the highest affordability level since 2003 and compares to the market peak in 2007, when just 34 per cent of homes were in reach of workers on the average income. Affordability levels reached their highest point in 2002 at 66 per cent, slipping to 56 per cent in 2003 and falling steadily as prices soared.

The website, which calculates affordability using average income and house prices in different regions, along with mortgage rates, said one third of average income earners could now meet mortgage repayments for a property worth 188,423, compared with 118,934 in 2002.