Average London FTB home to cost £344k in 2015

The price is up from £277,000 in 2010 and is expected to rise to just under £450,000 in 2020.

The Housing Market Analysis by Oxford Economics said the supply of new mortgage lending remained depressed, in spite of an apparent easing in interest rate spreads, as lenders continue to require proportionately higher deposits as a safeguard against renewed price falls.

Thanks to faster house price growth in London, the South and the East, the burden of raising a deposit will rise more rapidly, while in the North the burden will fall slightly as house prices soften over the coming couple of years.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: “Home ownership is increasingly becoming the preserve of the wealthy and in parts of the country like London, the very wealthy.

“For the millions locked out of the property market the options are becoming increasingly limited as demand sends rents rising sharply and social homes waiting lists remain at record levels.

Orr said that at the heart of the crisis was a chronic shortage of new homes.

“Despite the overwhelming need to increase supply, house building has slumped to a 90 year low, plunging the country even deeper into the mire,” Orr added.

“Ministers need to make unused public land available to housing associations, local authorities must assess the level of housing need in their area, and housing has to be finally treated as a top political priority.”