BOURNEMOUTH is the second least affordable place in the country, with less than half of young working families able to scrape together a mortgage for the cheapest homes here, according to a new study.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation report revealed that 51.6 percent of working households in the town under the age of 40 can pay rent without housing benefit, but can't afford the lowest 10 percent of house prices for two or three-bed houses.

This makes Bournemouth less affordable than Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster. Wey-mouth and Portland is the only less affordable place in the country - 54.6 percent - with Christchurch 17th with 44.6 percent and Poole 35th with 40.6 percent.

The report was revealed on the same day the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister warned only one in three people in their 30s will be able to afford to buy their own homes by 2026 unless more new houses are built.

Although 40,400 are planned for Bournemouth and Poole over that time, the Daily Echo reported last week that at least 92,000 of those will have to be affordable homes to meet need.

Sarah Adams, 24, rents an apartment in Charminster with her husband Conrad, 32, whose wages alone as an insurance adviser are enough to prevent them getting benefits.

But she said they have not been able to get together a big enough deposit on both their salaries to rent a decent-sized home.

"Now, most people have to move away from the area and change jobs to get up the property ladder to be able to move back," she said.

"I'm surprised it's less affordable here than London. I have avoided moving to London, because I wanted to live somewhere where I could afford to buy a house."

Steve Barclay, proprietor of Barclays Residential estate agency in Bournemouth town centre which deals mainly with flats, said they had seen a trend of buying to let, with first-time buyers unable to afford properties.

"It's starting to get a little bit better," he said. "Prices in the town centre have come down about three per cent in the last 12 months.

"It's now steady, but hopefully, it will allow more people to buy this type of property."

Don Gobbett, head of environmental services at Dorset County Council, said: "Parts of Dorset always come well up in these lists," explaining that issues including planning concerns, Londoners buying second homes, and market intricacies have an influence.

There are almost 300 new affordable houses currently under construction in Poole, and Kelly Ansell, housing resources manager for Poole council, said the council has just launched a low-cost home ownership application and advice service called Forward Move.

Bournemouth council had yet to comment as the Daily Echo went to press.

First published: October 11