At just 8ft wide, one of Islington’s smallest houses has gone on the market for an astonishing £749,999 – 23 times the borough’s average salary of £32,000.

The tiny, 742sq ft, two-bedroom house, in one of Barnsbury’s most exclusive streets, has already attracted three offers at Foxtons, the estate agents selling the property.

A Foxtons representative said that, because the Ripplevale Grove property is so narrow, at £1,000 per sq ft it was “quite cheap”, compared with properties in Canonbury Square, which sell for as much as £1,450 per sq ft.

The price tag is no surprise to locals. “I think the price is reflective of the area,” said Daniel Murphy, 22, who works in Upper Street. “If you take into account that, in the time you save up for a deposit, house prices will probably continue to rise five or six per cent on average, that house could be worth over a £1million by that point.

“It’s basically like chasing a moving train – no matter how fast you run, you’ll never be able to catch up.”

Another small two-bedroom property in Barnsbury has recently sold for £741,000, and a modest three-bedroom house, also in Ripplevale Grove, is on offer for £1,600,000.

An investigation by the Guardian newspaper last month found that Islington tops the table of boroughs in the UK where houses are out-earning wage packets.

Over the past five years, property prices have soared by £258,498 while home-owners during that time earned an average £135,457.

Town Hall housing chief James Murray said the price of the tiny house showed the capital’s housing market was “out of control”.

“This home is completely out of the reach of most people, underlining yet again how desperately we need more genuinely-affordable housing in Islington,” he added.

“We’re building thousands of new affordable homes but we need a government and a Mayor of London who’ll support us – rather than do everything they can to push rents up and try to sell off large numbers of council homes.”

• Keywords
  HOUSE PRICES
• Geographical keyword
  RIPPLEVALE GROVE