EXMOOR residents now have to raise 15 times their household income to buy an averagely priced home on the moor. According to Exmoor National Park Authority's eighth annual Exmoor House Price Survey, the average home now has a price tag of £356,379 while the average household income stands at just £24,000. The price is 82 per cent higher than the average house in the South West and 93 per cent higher than an average house in the UK as a whole. Even an average two-bedroom home would set a buyer back £295,000, compared to £285,000 the previous year, an increase of four per cent. This compares with a UK increase in prices of five per cent and a South West average increase of four per cent. However, the percentages show a slower growth rate than in previous years and seem to suggest the property market is at last beginning to 'cool down'. But moor-based potential homebuyers still seem to face an insurmountable task trying to bridge the gap between income and house prices. However, help is at hand in the shape of a number of newly adopted national park authority policies. One such policy states that all 'new build' housing or conversions within the national park should meet a local and affordable housing need. The aim is to help people who are deemed to be in housing need but who cannot afford to buy existing properties and who qualify as either a local resident or someone who is locally employed. Planning officer Tracey Blackmore said the new policies were helping local people remain in the communities where they were born and raised. She said: "Overall, the price increase of houses on Exmoor is less than it has been in recent years but there is still a wide gulf between average local incomes and average house prices on Exmoor that is especially affecting first time buyers. "Since the new housing policies have been in place we have had a lot interest, with three local/ affordable units being given permission and a further five units being granted permission subject to a further planning committee meeting." The park authority jointly employs a rural housing enabler to work across Exmoor, North Devon and West Somerset. West Somerset District Council has adopted its own comprehensive housing strategy which contains measures to restrict open-market housing developments, help homeless people and ensure a supply of affordable homes to rent. At last week's full district council meeting, the council's housing team leader Anjie Mellett warned the area was in the grip of a housing crisis which force even more people into temporary accommodation. She said people often found themselves without a roof over their heads after being refused accommodation by family and friends. Councillors were told there were 1,200 households on the council's housing register. Mrs Mellett said the new strategy would help to create 100 affordable homes for sale and 80 affordable homes to rent over the next four years. The condition of private sector housing would be improved, homelessness reduced by 15 per cent and 30 units of 'move on' accommodation created to help vulnerable people who needed supported housing.