RESIDENTS on an average wage would need a 126 per cent pay rise to afford a typical mortgage for a home in York, according to a report by the National Housing Federation.

The figures show that the average house price in the city is now £263,262 - 10 times the typical salary. Only Harrogate has a higher average house price in Yorkshire and the Humber, at a cost of £330,182.

And York is the most expensive place in the region to rent, with residents paying an average of £866 a month.

York Central's Labour MP Rachael Maskell said homes are now unaffordable for too many.

She said: “The council’s failure to build the volume and tenure of houses that local people need further causes housing to be out of reach for too many families across the city.

“The council’s revised local plan, still does not address York’s housing crisis, and it is time that the city’s leadership stopped playing political games and started building homes for local families.”

A spokesman for the National Housing Federation said the crisis in York is due to a shortage of new housing, adding that 2,612 too few homes were built between 2012 and 2016.

But Cllr Helen Douglas, the city council's executive member for housing and safer neighbourhoods, said: “York is a very desirable place to live, and we want to make sure that people of all incomes can continue to enjoy living here. Affordable housing is a national issue.

“We use the powers we have and our relationships with developers to secure as much affordable housing as possible within private developments. The Local Plan, currently out to consultation, would see 867 new homes built every year and includes the targets for at least 20 per cent affordable homes in larger developments. This would mean another 4,000 affordable homes to rent or buy across the lifetime of the plan.

“We’ve announced another £20 million - making £40 million overall - to build and buy council homes. We’re also developing our own land.”