The Institute's accessibility index saw reduced LTV's, alongside the costs of homebuying and the financial drain of stamp duty weighing heavy on first-time buyers' ability to get onto the housing ladder.
Indeed today's average first-time buyer couple, both on lower quartile earnings (totalling £26,595 after taxes), will now have to save up to the equivalent of 104 percent of joint take home pay, to build up the £27,729 needed for up front buying costs on a typical home (deposit, fees and stamp duty).
This equates to a substantial rise from the lowest point of 23 percent required in 1996.
Repossession levels are also set to continue to rise with RICS estimating that 123 houses will be repossessed per day in 2008.
London is still the most difficult place to access the housing market, followed by the South East and South West.
Affordability-wise London also tops out with first-time buyer households having to spend the highest proportion of their post-tax income on mortgage payments at 51 per cent.
This compares to only 29 percent for those in the North East.
