Office for National Statistics study shows Cambridge region is third most expensive for housebuyers

Unsurprisingly, London came top, with the south east in second place.

Those in England who succeeded in making it onto the property ladder in 2016 paid on average more than £198,0005. Would-be homeowners in London faced more of an uphill struggle, with the average value paid by first-time buyers over £423,000.

First-time buyers entering the property market typically purchased homes for more than the average entry-level house price where they live. This was the case in every region in England, as well as in Wales, indicating that those who did manage to get onto the property ladder for the first time could actually afford more than the cost of an entry-level property.

However, this does not reflect the people who couldn’t afford to buy their first home. Assuming a 15 per cent deposit, new buyers in London would require a household income of nearly £60,000 and savings of £55,000 – an unrealistic aim for many.

A typical household in England and Wales would probably need an income of £26,444 in order to borrow enough for an entry-level property. However this figure varied greatly from region to region.

Parts of Oxfordshire and its neighbouring counties had a large number of relatively unaffordable areas. The Littlemore neighbourhood in the city of Oxford, for example, had an average household income of just over £39,000 but the income required to buy an entry-level property was over £45,000.