A home to call your own that will be paid for by the time you retire is a common dream.

But making that crucial first investment in bricks and mortar is becoming increasingly difficult as property prices continue to go through the roof.

The lack of housing affordable to the average person is particularly acute in the Malvern Hills district.

Rupert Scott, a freelance consultant who spent nearly ten years working in Malvern Hills District Council's housing department, has just released a survey showing the huge discrepancy between what is available and what people can afford.

It shows that only 26 per cent of people in the district earn more than £18,600 a year, leaving three-quarters unable to afford a mortgage of more than £68,000.

This means a sizeable proportion are unable to afford the average house, which sold for £120,859 in Malvern town and £164,770 in the south of the district in 2001.

Victoria Nugent, sales manager of Morris and Prosser, agreed with the survey's bleak assessment for those looking for affordable housing.

"Prices have gone up so much that first-time buyers are forced into the rental market," she said. "First-time buyers are also getting older. They're in their late 20s and early 30s, rather than their early 20s. Everybody's stretching themselves and taking on bigger mortgages. It only takes interest rates to go up a bit and they will struggle."

Ms Nugent said she would like to see more affordable housing being built, as house prices were unlikely to fall sharply in the near future.

"I don't think the market will crash but it will level off or increase a little over the next year or so," she said.

Wendy Kitchen, branch manager of Halifax in Malvern, said she would also welcome more affordable housing. However, she did believe there was a problem with people over stretching themselves with mortgages lent by the Halifax.

"We only lend what people can afford to borrow," she said.

Ms Kitchen said that unless people were allowed to get on to the bottom rung of the housing ladder, the market would stagnate and people would find themselves trapped in their houses.

"If you don't get people at the bottom end then the chain breaks down," she said. "Also, where are people going to live?"

Twenty-year-old Fran Wheatley started looking in February for a two-bedroom house in Malvern for up to £100,000. She found just three possibles in nine months and eventually paid £105,000 for one last month, with help from her parents.

Miss Wheatley said finding a property in her price range had been hard - every time a house came on the market it was snapped up straight away.

"It just goes to show how Malvern is extremely expensive," she said.

Malvern Hills District Council has been aware of the huge shortfall in affordable housing for some years. It plans to use the data from the housing needs assessment to put pressure on developers to allow space for "affordable" housing in their plans.

This would apply to all developments of 15 houses or more in Malvern and five houses or more in the surrounding areas. Firms building smaller developments could be asked to contribute towards a fund that would be used to fund affordable housing elsewhere. An example of this occurred when David Payne Homes successfully applied to build 38 units on the site of the old Co-op dry cleaners on Yates Hay Road, Malvern. Planners gave the go-ahead on condition the scheme included five affordable housing units.

Head of planning Gary Williams said that as more information about the lack of affordable housing become available, the more ammunition the council would have to aim at developers.

Richard Grounds, commercial director of Festival Housing, which incorporates Elgar Housing Association, is well aware of the need for affordable housing in the district. Elgar currently has 1,336 people waiting for rented accommodation. It has built 40 new units so far this financial year. However, Mr Grounds can offer some hope for people who think that buying a house is beyond them, through two association schemes.

One, called Homebuy, arranges grants to help people buy the house they want, lending buyers 25 per cent of the price, repayable when they sell. Another, called Do It Yourself Shared Ownership (DIYSO) allows people to buy a share, in a house, usually 50 per cent, while Elgar buys the rest and rents it to them until they can afford to purchase the rest.

Both schemes have conditions applicants must satisfy and the number of places is limited, but Mr Grounds would like to see more people applying for them. "They're excellent. A win-win situation," he said.

More information on Homebuy is available from Karen Laydon on 01684 579434. Anyone interested in DIYSO, should contact Terry Martin on 01684 579435.