The average home in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin costs more than five times the annual wage of a worker in the county, new figures revealed today.

Potential housebuyers are struggling to afford homes in the region, with a house in Shropshire likely to set buyers back about £173,060.

The average wage for a county full-time worker is £30,312, putting the cost of a home at 5.7 times their earnings.

And in Telford & Wrekin, the average home at £139,942 is 5.4 times the annual take home wage of £26,013.

The figures were revealed in a survey by union GMB which shows that Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Solihull are the top areas in the Midlands region where house prices are still above the affordability range, which is calculated at 4.5 times average earnings.

In a list of 14 regions, Shropshire is rated in fourth place and Telford & Wrekin in sixth position, with homes in Coventry, Sandwell and Stoke-on-Trent currently the only locations where the average home is costing 4.5 average earnings or less.

House prices in Shropshire would need to drop by about £36,656 and in Telford & Wrekin by about £22,884, to bring them within the affordability range for the average worker.

Joe Morgan, GMB regional secretary, said: “This new analysis shows that house prices in the West Midlands have yet to fall towards the affordability range as they have done in parts of other regions.

“In England and Wales as a whole, average house prices need to adjust down by 11 per cent to come into the affordability range although the figure is higher in some parts of the country.

“The sooner house prices in the region return to their long-term affordability range the better.”

The survey’s figures were based on Office of National Statistics average earnings data and house prices figures from the Land Registry.

By Business Editor Amy Bould