Home ownership becoming 'exclusive members' club'

The National Housing Federation (NHF) says first time buyers need 10 times the deposit they did in the 1980s.

It says home ownership is becoming an "exclusive members' club".

The NHF, which represents housing associations, says only the wealthiest of the next generation will be able to buy a home if current trends continue.

Its report, Broken Market, Broken Dreams, says the average first time buyer needs a £30,000 deposit and to borrow 3.4 times their annual income.

The NHF says that in 1979 the average amount needed to buy a home would be 1.7 times annual income.

It points out that first-time buyers have to earn more, borrow more, stump up a larger deposit and rely more on family wealth than even a generation ago.

Two thirds of first-time buyers receive financial help from parents - a figure that has doubled in the past five years.

September spur

The report coincides with a monthly survey of property prices by Rightmove, which says prices in September are 0.9% higher than last year, the first rise for this month since 2011.

It says enquiries to agents overall are up by 16% year-on-year, at their second highest ever monthly level.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said: "With the high salary, and huge deposit younger generations now need to buy even a modest home, home ownership is quickly becoming an exclusive members club. Sadly, it will depend on the wealth of the family you were born into as much as your own hard work."