Homes break the £200,000 barrier

The price of the average house price has breached the £200,000 barrier for the first time, confirming Britain as one of the most expensive countries to buy a home.

Property prices have jumped nearly 200 per cent over the past decade, according to figures released yesterday by the Department for Communities and Local Government. In 2000, the average home reached the £100,000 mark. Now it stands at £201,090 nationwide - and £296,160 in London.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors described the figure as 'a psychological barrier which will further the woes of first-time buyers'. A worker on the average salary of £25,000 would have to borrow a mortgage of eight.