Just where do people find their deposits or afford their mortgage repayments?

AFTER last year's property price surge, I often find myself breathing a huge sigh of relief that I pulled myself up on to the first rung of the ladder last March.

Yes, I realise I'm taking home a journalist's unenviable wage (cue the violins) and therefore have good reason to be scared that the average house will soon cost 10 times what I earn, but in my experience, most 20-somethings harbour these fears.

Or do they?

It comes as no surprise to hear people are waiting longer to step on the property ladder, with the average first time buyer now 33-years-old.

But I had to raise an eyebrow when Britain's mortgage lender, the Halifax, put this down to first-time buyers becoming "older and wiser" and leading different lifestyles than 20 years ago.

OK, I agree there are many people delaying this major life move because of "higher education, having families later in life, a greater need to remain mobile and better quality rental properties".

But where in the Halifax's latest report is the subject of affordability - or lack of it?

It is mentioned, but maintains property remains affordable for first-time buyers in all areas of the UK except Greater London and the south east, with prices in the capital now averaging 4.72 times earnings compared with just 2.98 in 1983.

Am I the only one who wonders where these people find their deposits or afford their mortgage repayments on homes which are completely inconsistent with their earnings?

Surely, even with people waiting longer to buy their first home and saving up deposits, prices are moving further out of reach by the minute, instilling in first time buyers the fear they will not be able to jump aboard the ladder until they are on the board of directors.

Let's use Worcestershire as an example. According to the 2002 New Earning Survey, the average person in the county earned £20,826.

So, if a mortgage company agrees to lend you three times your wage, for example, you find yourself with around £63,000 to play with. A 10 per cent deposit then gives you around £70,000.

Two years ago, this would have been a tidy sum for a single person or a family with just one breadwinner, but scanning property pages, what can you actually buy?

After scouring hundreds of properties there were just six homes for this amount, half of which were tiny apartments.

Not surprising, considering the national average price of a first home soared by 294 per cent to £84,649 last year.

The next statistic in Halifax's report might shed a bit of light.

According to the group, the number of first-time buyers who entered the market fell rapidly last year, with just 526,000 taking the first step on to the property ladder, compared with 779,000 in 1983 and a peak of 961,000 in 1986.

And the proportion of first-time buyers aged under 25 has almost halved from 30 per cent 20 years ago to just 16 per cent.

But, according to Halifax, those who can afford it are putting down bigger deposits, averaging 19 per cent of a property's value, compared with 16 per cent in 1983.

Not surprisingly, people buying a first home in Greater London and the south-east are putting down the biggest deposits of 22 per cent, around £41,000.

The smallest deposits are put down by people buying homes in the north, where they average just 12 per cent or £6,528, followed by Scotland and Wales at 13 per cent and 14 per cent respectively.

"It's true the market has changed because of changing lifestyles; people not settling down until they are older, couples not living together until they are married, living in rented accommodation," said Lesley Branagh, property manager at Parkinson Wright Solicitors Property Shop in Worcester.

"But whether this is to do with high prices or not is another question.

"However, we did advertise a property for £59,950 last week and the phone has been on melt down from first-time buyers, trying to seize an opportunity."