First time buyers in London "need to earn £106,000 a year by 2020"

Once again we are hearing of research reminding us how hard it is to get on the property ladder in London. The charity Shelter has found that first time buyers will need to earn £106,000 a year by 2020 to purchase a property.

The charity said Londoners wanting to get on the property ladder would also need to find a deposit of £138,000 to buy a typical home worth £558,000 in four years' time. The current price of a typical first home in the capital is £419,000. Shelter's projections are based on a combination of previous academic research and official house price figures.

The research also found that the amount first time buyers in the rest of the country need to earn by 2020 is lower at £64,000 a year, with the average first home in four years' time costing £270,000.