Nearly 90 per cent of single people and more than half of couples under the age of 40 in Oxfordshire cannot afford to buy a home, according to new research.

First-time buyers and public sector workers have been pushed out of the market by rocketing house prices which are more than four times their average incomes.

A study published today (19 May) by the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) reveals the average price of an Oxfordshire starter home, with four to five rooms, was £163,889 last year -- 4.1 times more than the average £40,231 yearly income of under-40 households.

In Oxford, a typical starter home cost £178,220 -- 4.9 times more than the average income of £36,287.

JRF, which aims to find solutions to social problems, said the county was one of the most expensive places in south-east England, outside London, to live.

The charity said the spiralling prices had made it almost impossible for young and key workers to get on to the property ladder.

Prof Steve Wilcox of the University of York, who produced the study based on the incomes of nurses, social workers, teachers, police officers and people under 40, said 87.9 per cent of single people and 56.6 per cent of couples under 40 and in full-time employment in the county could not afford to buy a home.

In Oxford, these figures rise to 90.5 per cent for singles and 68.4 per cent for couples.

Nurses are the worst-off public sector workers in Oxfordshire when it comes to being able to afford a home.

With starting salaries of less than £17,000, they do not earn half the £43,100 income needed to buy a house costing about £135,000.

Police officers are more likely to be able to afford to buy than teachers or social workers -- but they still only have 58 per cent of the income needed to purchase an average starter home.

Prof Wilcox said: "These figures provide startling evidence of how the housing affordability crisis affects young people and key workers.

"Even in dual-income households, key workers still cannot afford to buy their own home."

Lord Best, director of the JRF, said the study showed more affordable housing was needed in areas such as Oxfordshire.

"If existing home owners want local hospitals, care homes, schools and police stations to be properly staffed, they can no longer ignore the case for more housing," he said.

The research comes just two weeks after protesters staged a demonstration in Oxford to urge the Government to pay weighting allowances to all public sector workers to counter the high cost of living.

Some nurses, Thames Valley Police officers and Crown Prosecution Service staff already receive the allowance, which is mainly paid to workers in London.

Average house price to income ratios in Oxfordshire

Oxford

2002 price for 4/5 room house: £178,220

Working household incomes (under 40s): £36,287

House price to income ratio: 4.91

Cherwell

2002 price for 4/5 room house: £140,093

Working household incomes (under 40s): £39,508

House price to income ratio: 3.55

South Oxfordshire

2002 price for 4/5 room house: £178,442

Working household incomes (under 40s): £42,354

House price to income ratio: 4.21

Vale of White Horse

2002 price for 4/5 room house: £157,777

Working household incomes (under 40s): £43,250

House price to income ratio: 3.65

West Oxfordshire

002 price for 4/5 room house: £164,916

Working household incomes (under 40s): £39,760

House price to income ratio: 4.15

Proportion of households unable to afford to buy a starter home costing about £135,00 in Oxfordshire

Single-person household: 87.9 per cent

Dual-person household: 56.6 per cent

All: 68.7 per cent

Key worker incomes relative to income needed to purchase in Oxfordshire (based on a 3:1 ratio used for mortgage calculation)

Oxford

Average price of 4/5 room house in last quarter of 2002: £147,184

Income needed to buy: £46,608

Income of key workers as a percentage of income required to purchase:

Teacher: 51.1

Police officer: 53.6

Social worker: 42.4

Nurse: 41.7

Cherwell

Average price of 4/5 room house in last quarter of 2002: £118,102

Income needed to buy: £37,399

Income of key worker as a percentage of income required to purchase

Teacher: 63.7

Police officer: 66.8

Social worker: 52.9

Nurse: 52

South Oxfordshire

Average price of 4/5 room house in last quarter of 2002: £142,286

Income needed to buy: £45,057

Income of key worker as a percentage of income required to purchase

Teacher: 52.9

Police officer: 55.5

Social worker: 43.9

Nurse: 43.2

Vale of White Horse

Average price of 4/5 room house in last quarter of 2002: £134, 539

Income needed to buy: £42,604

Income of key worker as a percentage of income required to purchase

Teacher: 55.9

Police officer: 58.7

Social worker: 46.4

Nurse: 45.6

West Oxfordshire

Average price of 4/5 room house in last quarter of 2002: £138,995

Income needed to buy: £44,015

Income of key worker as a percentage of income required to purchase

Teacher: 54.2

Police officer: 56.8

Social worker: 44.9

Nurse: 44.2