Accessibility to the housing market is worse than ever for first time buyers, according to new figures.
The average couple buying their first house must now save three quarters of their income to get a foot on the property ladder.
A couple looking to save for the deposit on their first home would now have to save £29,200 – or the equivalent of 74 per cent of their take-home pay, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said.
The institution said that rising house prices mean that accessibility to the property market is now almost 300 per cent worse than it was in 1996, when the average couple would have needed just a quarter (25.2 per cent) of their income to pay for a deposit on their first home.
“Unless housebuilding levels improve, and levels keep pace with population growth and rising income and wealth, people will continue to find it difficult to access the housing market,” warned RICS economist David Stubbs.
“If the housing market is to become more accessible, lenders must continue to offer generous funding levels, and the government should, out of necessity, promote a significant increase in the housing stock,” he added.
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