OXFORD residents need a £70,000 pay rise to get on the property ladder, according to new figures out today.

Average house prices in the city have reached £425,000 – 16 times the typical yearly wage of £28,600. And to afford a mortgage, even after putting down a hefty deposit, a would-be buyer must earn £97,232.

The National Housing Federation’s new report Home Truths lists Oxford as the second least affordable place in the South East, outside London. Oxford worker Rebecca Moore, 31, rents a flat with her partner but would like to buy.

She said: “Not only do you have to be earning £97,000 to buy here, you have to save up around £20,000 for a deposit and who can do that?

“It makes me quite sad.”

Despite Government schemes such as Help to Buy, estate agent Savills said two thirds of people in their 30s and 40s will not be able to afford to buy their own home.

Lettings agent Emily Hayward cited Council of Mortgage Lenders figures which show just 39 per cent of those born in 1990 will own their home by the age of 35.

It contrasts sharply with households born in the 1960s or 1970s, where two thirds owned their own home by the age of 35.

The Home Truths report puts the average cost of a home in Oxfordshire at £346,505, compared with £312,242 for the South East and £265,888 for England.

Of the county’s four districts, South Oxfordshire weighed in as the most expensive, with an average house price of £392,637. This was followed by £328,400 for Vale of White Horse, £322,219 for West Oxfordshire and £284,401 for Cherwell.

Meanwhile, renting in Oxford is much more expensive than the rest of the country, with average rents for the city at £1,113 a month, compared to £864 for the south east and £720 for England.

Alistair Smyth, external affairs manager for the South East at the National Housing Federation, said: “Oxford has rapidly become one of the capitals of our nation’s housing crisis.

“With average house prices in the city now standing at £425,000 – 16 times average incomes – the average resident would have to receive a massive £70,000 pay rise just to get on the property ladder.”

Ms Moore added: “In my parents’ generation, it was understood that if you worked hard, you would be able to afford your own home.

“To not be able to do that makes people feel trapped. It’s about having some stability and it doesn’t have to be luxurious, just a nice place you can call your own.”