WITH property prices shooting through the roof, Eastleigh has launched a probe into the housing needs of the borough.

Council chiefs are concerned about the many people who are being priced out of the market in an area where the average house price tag is £151,816.

Even one-bedroom flats on the town's Pirelli housing site, where more than 600 are being built, are said to be selling for about £100,000.

Now a housing needs survey to establish the needs and aspirations of local people has been commissioned by the council.

It will help shape future housing strategy and planning and play a major role when it comes to the local authority making bids for Whitehall funding.

A postal questionnaire has been sent out to more than 11,000 randomly selected households, including home-owners, privately-rented and housing association tenants.

It is designed to build up a picture of housing needs in the area by asking questions about property, the people who live in it and any short or long-term housing needs.

It will not involve door-to-door interviews and all responses will be treated in the strictest confidence with no prospect of identifying individual people from the data supplied.

The survey is being carried out by research specialists David Couttie Associates and questionnaires should be returned in a pre-paid envelope by October 23.

Councillor Anne Winstanley, the council's lead on social policy, is keen to get a high response.

She said: "It is essential that we get as much information as possible about what sort of housing is needed and whether it is needed for rent or purchase.

"We are particularly concerned about the many people who are being priced out of the local market. What local people have to say is extremely relevant and will help shape our plans in the coming year.

"I would urge everybody who receives a questionnaire to take a few minutes to contribute to this very important study."

The council's head of housing services, Amanda Jobling, said: "We are working with nearby local authorities and will pool information from these surveys.

"We know there is a great shortage of affordable housing in the area. Building a picture of need in the south-west Hampshire area will help inform us of the types of accommodation to build in the borough and the best locations for it."

So far the council says more than 32 per cent of questionnaires have been returned but they are keen to hear from residents in the Eastleigh Central and Eastleigh South areas where the response has been low.