Dream of owning a home is further away than ever for many

Average house prices in the UK increased by 8.4 per cent in the year to August 2016. The average UK house price was £219,000 in August, £17,000 higher than a year earlier and £3,000 higher than in July. Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said:

"We are now seeing the end of the truly affordable family home in vast swathes of Britain. The Government is allowing the housing market to spiral out of control and it is kicking the ladder of aspiration away from millions of people.

"Renters are looking at spending years before they can scrape together a deposit for a home to call their own. It is time to build the homes that Britain needs and to stop the recycled press releases and reheated funding announcements. We need to get Britain building.

"The government should start building garden cities and villages, bringing empty homes back into use, and create a Government-backed housing investment bank to bring us up the 300,000 homes a year we need."