Could you afford to buy your house now?

If you bought in Brent in the past five years, chances are the answer is no.

The Sunday Times found that Brent was one of the 10 local authorities with the biggest gap between house prices and earnings in the past two years.

Property in the borough increased by £73,147 more in the past two years than average take home pay in the same period.

However, over a five-year period the difference was only £33,908, showing how recent Brent’s regeneration has been thanks to the rising popularity of areas like Queen’s Park, Kensal Rise and Harlesden, as well as new housing development and infrastructure projects around Wembley Park.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “The housing market recovery over the last few years has led to substantial price rises in some areas of the country, particularly in London, the south east and the east of England. This has resulted in homes increasing in value by more than total take-home earnings for the average homeowner in many areas of the country.

“Clearly, this is good news for some homeowners. However, it does make conditions tougher for those looking to buy their first home in such areas, with prices being pushed increasingly out of range for many young people.”

Westminster saw a £23,196 gap between house prices and earnings over five years, while the difference in Camden was £6,869.

Across the UK, a quarter of homes are “out earning” their owners and 28 per cent of local authorities have house prices that have risen by a greater amount than their owners’ salaries. Last year the figure was 19 per cent.

Nearly all of these homes are found in London and the South East, with only 10 per cent spread across the rest of the UK