The next generation of wannabe home-owners may need to find 10 times their annual salary in order to get on the property ladder.

Herts Advertiser: HouseSimple.com’s forecast for home affordability based on the average house price vs the average salaryHouseSimple.com’s forecast for home affordability based on the average house price vs the average salary (Image: Archant)

According to research by HouseSimple.com, property prices grew 3.3 times faster than salaries between 1997 and 2017.

If this rate of growth continues, the average home in England could cost £1.5m by 2042 – almost 10 times the predicted average salary.

Buyers in England currently need 7.9 times the average salary of £27,195 to buy the average £223,000 home.

In London they need far more - the average home in the capital costs £419,000. By 2030, these figures could reach £600,000 and £1.3m respectively.

Alex Gosling from HouseSimple.com, said: “House prices won’t rise as sharply in 2018 as they have in previous years, but for many hopeful home buyers, the prospect of saving enough money for a deposit is still a distant dream.

“If house prices keep rising at the rate we’ve seen over the past few decades – and salaries can’t equate – it will become extremely difficult for future generations to acquire property even with the financial help of their parents.”