THINKING of buying a house? You'll need to be earning more than £50,000 in Somerset.

House prices in the county are more than 10 times the average salary, with average rent prices also more than £600 a year.

The figures have been released by the National Housing Federation (NHF), which is warning of an 'acute crisis' in the south west as house prices and renting costs go up again.

In Taunton Deane, the average house price in 2016 was £227,958, with the average wage at £26,437. This means that if buyers wanted to get an 80 per cent mortgage, they would need a salary of £52,105.

The average rental cost in the borough is £634.

In South Somerset, the average house costs £226,503, meaning people would need a wage of £51,772 to buy a house, with the current average wage being £22,568. The average rental cost in the district is £617.

In Sedgemoor, it is slightly better, with the average house price at £206,644 and an average wage of £23,975, meaning people would need to be earning £47,233 to buy their own property.The average rental cost is £607.

In West Somerset, the average house price is £224,702 with an average wage of £23,499, with potential buyers needing to earn £51, 360 to afford their own homes. The average rental cost is £619.

Jenny Allen, external affairs manager for the National Housing Federation in the South West, said: “As one of Britain’s most expensive regions, the South West has experienced first-hand the brunt of the housing crisis. The spike in house prices has had a devastating impact on rural communities, especially with young families being priced out. This is having a knock-on effect on local amenities, including shops and schools, and is detrimental to everyone.

“As this year’s Home Truths report shows, the number of homes built is far below what the region needs to keep up with demand. Housing associations are a vital part of the solution to the housing crisis.”

Bath and North East Somerset is the most expensive area in the county, with the average price of a house £349,391, meaning people would need to earn £79,861.

County-wide, the average house price is £226,222, meaning people would need £51,708 to buy an 80 per cent mortgage, with the rental cost at £630.

Rosie Hather, fundraising and communications officer at Taunton Association for the Homeless, said the figures were an example of why homeless people struggle to get back into private accommodation.

She said: "Rental prices are too high. The main difficulties that homeless people face is that not only do they have to find money for the rent, but they have also got to find money for deposits and landlord fees.

"That can be incredibly difficult financially.

"A lot of our clients, who are homeless, have often lost their income and don't have the means or the support to raise the money for rent or deposits.

"To try and combat this, we have actually set up our own letting agent, Somerset West Letting Agency based in Bridgwater, to try and reduce the deposits and the fees they have to pay, and also to create bonds, alongside the district councils, which help people get back into private accommodation.

"The morale for a homeless person who is looking to get back into private accommodation can be quite low, and it's probably something they don't think they can achieve. They often don't have families or networks of support, or have low wages, so they struggle to raise the funds to get their own homes.

"It's a difficult problem to solve, but I think a good way would be for landlords to start reducing their fees or to sign up to Somerset West Letting, and start accepting bonds as payment because if more started to do it, then more people would be able to get back into private accommodation."