The average house price in England and Wales has passed £300,000, according to Rightmove.
Prices have shot up 50pc in 10 years, outpacing wage growth in the same period at 22pc and CPI inflation of 26.8pc.
The finding comes as research by estate agent Hamptons revealed it takes 13 years for an average single first-time buyer in England and Wales to save for a deposit, while it takes a Londoner 46 years.
It also found that the Lifetime ISA, which was announced in the Budget, will help first-time buyers in London save for a deposit 19 years faster.
Slightly softened lending criteria, and the addition of Help to Buy, a government-backed scheme that requires just a 5pc deposit, have contributed to the shorter time taken to save for a home.
Fionnuala Earley, director of residential research at Hamptons International said: “Affordability is still difficult for first-time buyers, but things did get better in 2015.
“House price growth slowed in England and Wales while wages increased, making it easier for first-time buyers to save up a deposit to buy their home. Conditions are hardest in the capital where house prices have surged since the crash.”
The greatest annual inflation in house prices was in London, at 11pc since last March, but its monthly change was at a standstill.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove said: “London is a shadow of the former price-rise powerhouse that has driven up national averages over the past five years, and is now a myriad of different local markets with some boroughs dramatically up or down, but overall cancelling each other out.”
The breakthrough to £303,190 was driven by supply constraints which are increasing in the north and west of the country. Six out of the 10 regions in England and Wales had record prices.
This house price index differs from other such as the Land Registry and Nationwide as it monitors asking prices, and is therefore viewed as being less reliable.
Mr Shipside added: “More first-time buyers and would-be trader-uppers are finding themselves ill-equipped to cope with current house prices given the tighter lending criteria and average earnings lagging well behind house price growth.
“However, stronger growth in average earnings would not have helped the situation as it would simply have enabled buyers to bid prices up even higher, chasing the limited supply of suitable housing stock.”
This comes as a survey commissioned by Shelter showed that three-quarters of Britons said they worry that future generations will never be able to find a "forever home" that they can settle down in.
The research, which was carried out as part of the housing charity’s 50th anniversary and as part of their Great Home Debate, also found that people aged 25-34 move once every five years of their lives compared to once every 12 years among pensioners.
Hamptons’ Time to Save index is based on a person saving 22pc of an average income for a 15pc deposit of an average house.
References: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/03/18/why-it-takes-13-years-for-a-single-person-to-save-for-their-firs/