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Responding the latest house price data from the ONS Sam Richards, CEO of pro-growth campaign group Britain Remade, said:

“Millions of people are being forced to pay eye-watering sums just to have somewhere to live - especially in London.

“The fact that it takes a couple on a normal income an average of 13 years to save for a deposit in London isn’t an accident. It’s the direct result of decades of failure to build enough homes. By not building, people are being priced out of our most economically productive cities, limiting their access to the best jobs and further stifling growth.

 “The only way to fix this is by reforming our outdated planning system so we can start building quickly. The Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill was meant to do this, including delivering the homes Britain desperately needs. Unfortunately, recent amendments have watered down key parts of the Bill, weakening the Government’s growth strategy.

“It is increasingly looking like the Government will miss its target to build 1.5 million homes by the end of this Parliament. Until we build the homes we need, millions of young people will be locked out of home ownership and stuck paying ever-rising rents.”