Affordability is reaching crisis levels in many regions outside London, where house price to earnings ratios are increasingly outweighing the capital’s, according to latest figures from the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU). The report, a response to the government’s housing green paper consultation, concludes that by 2026, average prices could rise to 11.3 times earnings in the east of England, 12.9% in the south west and 11 times in London if current government targets are not revised upwards over the longer term. <br><br>The NHPAU warns that to ease the crisis, 270,000 new homes a year will be needed by 2016, as opposed to the government’s 240,000-a-year green paper target – more than a quarter of a million additional new homes above the current target by 2020. Steven Nickell, chair of the NHPAU – an independent body established to advise on the best measures for planners and government to assess affordability – said: <br><br>“The regional assemblies, development agencies and planning authorities have the major responsibility. Based on the evidence, collectively they may decide to push supply beyond the government’s national target.” NHPAU chief executive Kevin Williamson insisted that any cooling of the housing market in the short term would …