First time buyers need an average income of £54,400 to get on the housing ladder

First-time buyers hoping to get on the property ladder in Britain's biggest cities will need to be on an average salary of £53,000, figures suggest.

Zoopla, which analysed house prices in the UK's 20 major cities, said the average annual income needed now ranges from £26,100 in Liverpool to £84,000 in London.

It found the average income required has increased by more than £4,500 in the past three years.

But there was slight relief for those trying to buy in London - the average household income needed is £3,250 less than in 2016, following three years of weak growth and small price falls in the capital.

In fact, weak price growth has seen affordability improve in two other cities - Aberdeen and Cambridge.

The research made several assumptions, including that 30% of a household's take-home income is spent on mortgage costs, and that buyers borrow no more than four times their income and that their average deposit would be 15%.

Average mortgage rates were used to calculate repayments over a 30-year term.

It takes a LOT more cash to buy a home now (PA)

Outside London, Oxford requires the highest first-time buyer income, although like London this have also fallen over the past three years.

Leicester has seen the largest percentage increase in the income required to purchase since 2016, at 20%, followed closely by Birmingham and Manchester, reflecting house price growth in these cities.

Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Zoopla said: "First-time buyers are an important group accounting for more than one in three sales.

"While the average household income to buy a typical home across UK cities has grown 9% since 2016, weaker price growth and recent price falls have led to a 5% reduction in the income to buy across the most expensive cities.

"It will come as a modest relief for would-be buyers although the income to purchase still remains relatively high."

How much will I need to earn to buy a house?

A sobering thought: First time buyers hoping to get their own place will need to be earning at least £26,000 (Publicity Picture)

These are property website Zoopla's estimates on how much you'll need to earn a year to get on the ladder in Britain's biggest cities.

• Liverpool - £26,100 (14% up)
• Glasgow -  £26,600 (14% up)
• Newcastle - £27,200 (7% up)
• Belfast - £28,800 (13% up)
• Sheffield - £29,500 (14% up)
• Nottingham - £32,900 (18% up)
• Aberdeen - £33,700 (12% down)
• Birmingham - £35,200 (19% up)
• Leeds -  £35,500 (13% up)
• Manchester -  £36,200 (19% up)
• Leicester - £38,000 (20% up)
• Cardiff- £44,600 (14% up)
• Southampton, £44,100, £48,500, 10% up)
• Edinburgh, £41,800, £48,700, 17% up)
• Portsmouth, £45,300, £50,700, 12% up)
• Bristol, £53,100, £59,500, 12% up)
• Bournemouth - £62,300 (13% up)
• Oxford - £68,800, 3%down)
• Cambridge - £72,000 (5% down)
• London - £84,000 (4% down)