Ongoing rises in house prices have pushed up the average deposit paid by buyers in the UK to above £80,000 for the first time.

Figures compiled by the Mortgage Advice Bureau from more than 750 brokers and 900 estate agents showed the average down payment in December was £81,721, which The Times says was a 15 per cent increase compared to the same month in 2014. This is the highest figure recorded since the MAB began tracking the data in 2009.

The report shows buyer equity is increasing to track rising prices at a time when wages are not keeping pace, meaning the mortgages that can be raised based on a multiple of pay are making up a smaller proportion of the total purchase price. Average loan to value in December fell 1.1 per cent to a five-and-a-half-year low of 68.2 per cent.

Based on the deposit and loan-to-value numbers, the MAB data puts the average purchase price across the UK at £256,984.

Interestingly, despite the rising prices and deposits and the inevitable squeeze on affordability, the MAB reckons there has not been an exodus of younger and first-time buyers from the market. A 2.9 per cent fall in the average salary of homebuyers to £38,820 last month "suggests those with slightly lower incomes are still able to access the housing market… helped by rock-bottom mortgage rates".

"One in four first-time buyers (26 per cent) now borrow over 35 years, compared to 16 per cent in 2007," said the newspaper.

Separate research by the Consilium Strategic Land Fund claims the lack of affordable housing has led to one in four people living with their parents expecting not to be able to afford their own home until the age of 35.

www.theweek.co.uk/