Prices rose sharply in east London, says the federation

This puts an average property price (�276,000) at nearly 9 times the average salary (�31,370) compared with 6.6 times as much in 2000.

The report by London Housing Federation showed particularly steep house price rises in Barking and Dagenham and Newham boroughs in east London.

The federation said owning a home in London remains severely unaffordable.

Overcrowded homes

Head of the federation Berwyn Kinsey said: "Despite reports of house prices falling, these figures show that owning your own home in London remains severely unaffordable, even for people on decent salaries."

He said hundreds of thousands of Londoners were even worse off, living in temporary accommodation or crammed into overcrowded homes.

London has more than 60,000 homeless, 280,000 households on council waiting lists for affordable homes and 260,000 living in overcrowded homes, said the federation.

"We're glad the government has woken up to the fact that London desperately needs more affordable housing, but current levels of buildings do not even make up for the number of affordable homes we lose each year through right to buy," said Mr Kinsey.

Earlier this month, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said London house prices were static after suffering falls since the middle of 2004.