HOMES in the Ribble Valley have "earned" more than their owners over the past two years, research from Halifax suggests.

Halifax compared rising property values against people's average take-home earnings across the two-year period of 2016 and 2017 to make the findings.

Ribble Valley was the highest performing area in North West England, where house price gains were £8,217 more than earnings over two years.

The average house price in the Ribble Valley rose by £52,846 compared to average take-home earnings of £44,630.

But the proportion of areas where house prices are outpacing earnings has fallen, from 31 per cent in 2016 to 18 per cent in 2017, Halifax said.

The report also highlighted a continued north/south divide, with 86 per cent of areas where the average house price rise is greater than local earnings over the past two years being in London, the South East, South West or the East of England.

This share is down slightly from the last year when 93 per cent of areas came from these four regions.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: "Over the past two years, we have seen house price growth and earnings converge at a national level, leading to a drop in the total number of areas where the average house price rise is greater than owners' take-home earnings.

"Despite the slowdown in house price growth in southern England, it has still outpaced wages across most of the region. This means that middle earners are also facing a challenge getting on to the property ladder."