Shelter data shows average earnings would have to be £55,296 just to keep pace with house price rise since 1997

An average earner in England would be taking home an extra £29,000 a year if salaries had kept pace with property prices since 1997, according to the housing charity Shelter.

Spiralling house prices and a slowdown in the number of home being built in recent years mean that in many areas of the country wages have failed to keep pace with the housing market, pushing property out of reach of a growing number of people.

Shelter analysed house prices and earnings across England for the period between 1997 and 2012 and found that while the average price of a home had increased more than threefold, from £75,762 to £253,816, average wages had gone up by much less, from £16,500 to £25,932.

Had earnings risen at the same rate as house prices, the average salary would have been £55,296, or £29,000 more than it was.

While parts of London now have huge gaps between average wages and house prices, Shelter said the shortage of affordable homes meant that people with typical earnings in Watford and Brighton and Hove would need an extra £47,000 each year to keep up with local house price inflation, and in Manchester £34,000 extra would be needed.

The figures underline the struggle to afford a home faced by many households, particularly those attempting to buy with just one salary. However, even couples without children face affordability problems in many areas of the country if they are both earning the average salary.

In Westminster, a couple earning the local average of £82,389 would, between them, be earning £210,749 more if their salaries had kept up with the borough's house prices. In Rotherham, where homes attract lower prices, a couple on an average salary would still face a £30,000 gap.

Campbell Robb, Shelter's chief executive, said: "When you'd need to more than double your salary just to keep up with rising house prices, it is no surprise that the dream of a home of their own is slipping further out of reach for a generation.

"Politicians need to start meeting people half way by committing to bold solutions that will get more affordable homes built. Otherwise future generations will find themselves priced out of a stable home, however hard they work or save."

Separate research by the estate agent Countrywide based on 50,000 private rented homes showed that in January 60% of tenants were aged over 30, and a growing number of families were living in let accommodation.

In London, the number of tenants living with children increased by 6% over the year, while in the south-west it was up 5% to 31% of tenants and in the north-west it was up 3% at 28%.