Elmbridge in Surrey is the most difficult place in the country outside of London to get a first step on the property ladder, new research from the National Housing Federation reveals.
Chichester in West Sussex closely follows as well as Horsham, Sevenoaks and Winchester making the top 20 areas where average wages, house prices and limited ability to save for a deposit collide to price out would-be homeowners.
Many of the places most out of reach for first time buyers are rural areas, which have a large shortfall of the number of new houses built. Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster and Camden are the most difficult places in England overall to become a first-time buyer, topping the table dominated by London boroughs. The research also showed that first time buyers now face house prices 10 times their wages in half of all local authority areas in the country.
The National Housing Federation highlights that decades of successive governments failing to build enough homes has led demand for homes to far exceed supply, driving up house prices and causing home ownership to fall to a 29 year low.
In a YouGov poll the National Housing Federation found that an overwhelming 87 percent (almost nine in 10) 18-34 year olds say it is difficult for their generation to get on the housing ladder in Britain.
The National Housing Federation highlights that the current generation of aspiring first time buyers are considerably worse off than their parents were when it comes to their chances of being able to buy a home, due to successive Governments failing to build enough homes to keep up with demand. With demand for homes pushing prices up, average first-time buyers today need a £30,000 deposit, almost ten times the deposit required in the early 1980s in real terms.
Henry Gregg, assistant director of communications and campaigns at the National Housing Federation, said: “If the new Government doesn’t urgently address the chronic shortage of housing, young people and families will continue to be locked out of ever owning a home in future.
“Younger people, especially those whose parents can’t help financially, can find themselves stuck living in their childhood bedrooms or paying high private rents that make it almost impossible to find a home that is genuinely affordable.
“That’s why we are backing the Homes for Britain campaign, calling on the new government to publish a long term plan to end the housing crisis, which addresses all aspects of the market, within its first year of office.”