The number of properties with a seven-figure value is to triple over the next 14 years, making getting on the ladder even harder for first-time buyers, found a report by Santander Mortgages.

In just five years time, the average home will be worth £344,000 climbing to a typical £557,444 in 2030 - almost double the £280,000 typical value today, predicted the study.

The average UK property will be worth nearly 10 times the mean income by 2030, from the current ratio of 7.9, the report estimated.

Rocketing prices of homes will widen the gap between home owners and those who can't afford to buy.

To have any hope of owning a property, more people will have to make sacrifices, such as moving away from friends and family and facing longer work commutes, according to the findings.

The report said: "If house prices rise faster than real incomes - as they persistently have over the past 50 years - then the quality of housing buyers can afford also falls.

"New home owners have to make do with smaller houses in less convenient locations - maybe further from their jobs, friends, and family and a good local school, meaning the need to compromise increases."

Prices are currently surging as landlords rush to buy before a new stamp duty tax in April. 

www.express.co.uk