(1888PressRelease)
May 20, 2007 - With house price inflation in the city recorded at 38 per cent in the last 12 months to March by Halifax Bank, Truro's average house price has passed the £300,000 mark for the first time.
As a result, Truro is now the expensive city in the South-west, and is increasing unaffordable for the average Briton - and especially first time buyers.
As a result, those who do purchase property in the area often find themselves financially overstretched - with the risk of repossession looming especially large in today's higher interest rate climate..
"The problem for people in Cornwall is not house prices, it's unaffordability," Geoff Kitchener of the charity Shelter in Cornwall told the BBC.
"Average houses prices are now nearly ten times the average wage.
"There's very little hope for young families on the average wage."
Julian King, director of National Homebuyers, the UK's leading fast property buyer comments: "This stems from the award of City bonuses allowing city movers and shakers to purchase holiday and weekend homes which is driving prices up in Cornwall.
"The unfortunate knock-on effect that this has had is that local first time buyers have overstretched themselves financially to get on 'the ladder'.
"They are now finding with the rising mortgage rates that they can no longer keep up their repayments and are contacting National Homebuyers requesting us to assist by purchasing their home, clearing their mortgage and allowing them to remain living in their homes as tenants."
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