Londoners are increasingly unable to afford to buy a home, while those in the north of the country are prospering, according to new research from Mform.co.uk.

Soaring London house prices mean residents of the capital are increasingly becoming unable to afford to buy a home. The Mform research shows just 61% of Londoners own their own home, compared with the national average of 65%, and there is increasing evidence of a north-south divide - with more than 70% of people in Lancashire and 71% of those in Yorkshire owning their house or paying a mortgage and 67% of those in Scotland doing the same.

"The north-south divide is traditionally about the well-off south and the poor north. But in home ownership it is the south – and particularly London – which is suffering", said Mform chief executive Eamonn Rice.

Figures from Rightmove.co.uk show in the last year the average asking price in the capital has risen 23.6% to £355,097. By contrast, over the same period asking prices in the north of England have risen just 5.7% to stand at £150,661.

"With average asking prices for homes in London at more than £350,000 something has to give and it is people trying to get on the housing ladder who have to give up and look outside the capital", said Mr Rice.
"Those who are lucky enough to have got on the housing ladder might think they are sitting pretty. But they need to think carefully about how they can afford their mortgage and should be making efforts to cut costs where possible."