WEST Somerset is the least affordable place in the county to buy a home and one of the most expensive places to get on the property ladder in the whole of the South West.

According to a survey by the National Housing Federation, house prices in West Somerset are more than 14 times the average local income.

That puts the district at the top of the league table of the least affordable places to buy a home in Somerset and at number seven in the unaffordable list of local authority districts from Dorset through to Cornwall.

The report, South West Home Truths 2011, found that the average house price in the district was £226,981, while the average income was £15,954.

In Taunton Deane the average home cost £214,866, some ten and a half times the average income of £20,488, while in Sedgemoor the average house price was £194,560, again just over ten times the average £19,048 income.

Jenny Allen, South West lead manager for report authors the National Housing Federation, said that despite the ongoing recession, house prices in Somerset remained out of reach for thousands of people.

She said private sector rents were also likely to increase and urgent action was needed to prevent an even larger housing crisis.

"Lack of supply is at the root of the problem," she said.

"Ministers need to act now to implement a range of measures to turn the tide on the current housing crisis, ensuring that homes continue to be built at a scale where they are most needed, that affordable housing options remain and that housing is properly regulated across all sectors."

Numerous local authorities also reported significant increases in the number of households on social housing waiting lists.

Last year, there was a 46 per cent increase in the number of people on waiting lists in West Somerset alone, up from 1,252 in 2009 to 1,828 in 2010.

The National Housing Federation is warning that the situation is likely to get even worse as demand continues to outstrip supply, pushing up prices in the process.

Between 2010/11, a total of 13,220 new homes were built in the South West, enough to meet just 48 per cent of the region's needs according to the federation.

Housing group chief executive Gary Orr said the report clearly illustrated the dire state of the region's housing market.

"Home ownership is well out of reach for thousands of households here and rising private sector rents mean there's not much of an alternative," he said.

"Housing waiting lists also appear to be growing rapidly.

"The affordable housing sector has managed to build 18 per cent more homes last year than the year before, despite such trying economic times.

"Working in partnership with local authorities, community land trusts and other agencies, we will need to do more to realise the opportunities that remain available."