Generation rent priced out

Prospective first-time buyers will need to earn £64,000 a year by 2020 in order to get onto the property ladder, according to predications by homeless charity Shelter.

Buyers will also need to put down a deposit of £46,000 to secure a home, with prices for a typical first-time buyer home expected to shoot up to £270,000 from the current price of £220,000.

The findings, based on previous academic research and official house price figures, look set to condemn Generation Rent to a lifetime unsecure living.

Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive, said the figures underline the need for investment “in homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford to live in”.