WEAVER Vale MP Mike Amesbury has warned of a ‘perfect storm’ placing housing out of reach for many of his constituents, after Commons figures revealed house prices were rising faster than the north west average.

Statistics compiled by the House of Commons research library show that an average home in Weaver Vale is now almost £189,000, a rise of almost 26 per cent compared to the previous five years.

This compares to an average north west house price of £156,000, and a rise of 20 per cent over the last five years.

The Weaver Vale figure is more than six times the median wage in the constituency of £29,500.

In 1995 an average house in Weaver Vale cost just £54,000, according to the figures.

In addition to rising house prices, a lack of social housing and rising rent prices in the private rented sector are also having an impact.

According to housing charity Shelter, a lack of investment in social housing means there are more than 1.8 million households nationally waiting for a social home – an increase of 81 per cent since 1997 – while two thirds of households on the waiting list have been waiting for more than a year.

Meanwhile, private rents could rise 15 per cent by 2023 as the supply of new rental properties dries up, according to a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Mike said: “Affordable housing continues to be out of reach for many of my constituents with rising house prices, private rents and a shortage of appropriate social housing causing a perfect storm of lack of suitable places to live.

“Since 2010 housebuilding is at its lowest levels since the 1920s and new affordable housing is at a 24-year low, while the number of home-owning households has fallen by 900,000 for the under-45s since 2010.

“There’s a good story to tell in terms of the work being done by some of our local social landlords who are building more homes but they’re fighting an uphill battle without decisive strategic action by the government.

“We need decisive action from the government to finally bring an end to this crisis, prioritising brownfield sites for construction and more housing association properties for rent or sale that are genuinely affordable.”