Problem with Applications folder - refusing to open

I'm not sure if this is something new or whether I've only just noticed. On my iMac if I go to Macintosh HD>Users>username (with the home icon)>Applications and click on the folder, I get this message:

"The folder 'Applications' can't be opened because you don't have permission to see the contents".

I'm the main user of the computer so I don't really understand why this is. Having checked 'More Info' under 'Sharing & Permissions' it gives "_unknown" Read and Write access and "everyone" No Access.

Now, I'm not really sure whether this is causing me any real problems as I seem to be able to open all applications from the folder in the dock and from Macintosh HD>Applications. But it's bugging me... should it be like that or can I change it to allow access?

I'm running Snow Leopard on a 2GHZ Intel Core Duo iMac.

Thanks for any help...

The Applications folder inside your home directory (/Users/yourusername/Applications) is for apps only you would like access to. Most applications are going to be installed in the root /Applications folder, so everyone can enjoy them. If it's really bugging you, get info on the /Users/yourusername/Applications folder, add yourself as the owner with full read&write permissions, and apply the changes to all subfolders.

Thanks. That was easy. It turns out there's only one thing in there anyway! But I feel like I'm more in control now