THE NUMBER_[pound]300,000

The cost of an average house in the UK will shoot up by more than 40 per cent in the next five years to more than [pound]300,000, research from the National Housing Federation (NHF) predicts.

Using price forecasts from consultancy Oxford Economics, the NHF's 'Home Truths' report dismisses the idea of a house price crash as "unlikely". The authors found that today's average house price is nearly 11 times average earnings; that the supply of houses has dropped further behind demand; and that some 1.6 million households - a 57 per cent rise over the past five years - are listed as waiting for social housing.

By 2011, the average home in London could set you back [pound]478,300, compared with [pound]318,864 today, according to the NHF.

"Home owners may see this as good news, but it carries a sting in the tail," said David Orr, the NHF's chief executive. "Across the country, more and more people are going to find themselves priced out of the property market - and struggling to find a decent home."

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