Housing: Prices Grant Shapps To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings was in each of the last 20 quarters. Mr. Iain Wright The ratio of lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings in England for the years 1997 to 2008 is presented in the following table: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | |Lower quintile house prices to lower quintile earnings, England| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1997 |3.51 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1998 |3.52 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |1999 |3.66 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2000 |3.79 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2001 |3.97 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2002 |4.31 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2003 |4.94 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2004 |6.14 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2005 |6.66 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2006 |7.10 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2007 |7.37 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |2008 |7.03 | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Source:Land Registry and the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ONS).| | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grant Shapps To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what forecast she has made of likely changes in the housing affordability ratio throughout 2009. Mr. Iain Wright Communities and Local Government does not make forecasts of the housing affordability ratio.