Housing affordability has deteriorated to near record lows, with homes five times more expensive for first-time buyers than in 1996, new figures show.

Buyers in the southeast and southwest of England have to save over 100 percent of their annual earnings for a deposit to get a foothold on the property ladder, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (RICS) accessibility index.

This compares with the low point of just 20 percent of annual earnings required in 1996 and reflects a 350 percent drop in affordability in the past 11 years.

The index revealed that the cost of becoming a homeowner rose by 8.4 percent alone in the year to the second quarter of 2007.

London remains the toughest property market to enter for a couple on low wages. RICS senior economist David Stubbs said the situation could worsen.

"First time buyers are facing an enormous struggle to access the housing market," he said.

"This may worsen if the turmoil in the US market forces mortgage providers to tighten lending criteria and demand even higher deposits.

"Even if prospective first time buyers make it onto the market, they face mortgage payments which take up a higher percentage of their take-home pay than at any time since 1990."

The RICS accessibility index calculates the upfront cost of an average priced home for first-time home buyers, as a percentage of annual pay. - Reuters