Will Labour help Londoners get on the ladder?

The young are hoping for a rabbit out of the hatin the Budget that will let them buy a home at last

- ANNA WHITE

The deposit needed for a first-time buyer to purchase a home in London versus the rest of the country has hit record levels, as housing affordability worsens in the capital.

A typical first-time buyer must amass a 30 per cent deposit of around £142,588 to get on the ladder in the capital this autumn, about two and a half times the size needed anywhere else in Britain (£58,000). Analysis by Savills shows the price of a first-time buyer property is 85 per cent higher in London at £469,740, compared with £253,417 nationally. Despite a muted property market, house prices in London are still on the move. Only this week Rightmove revealed that asking prices in the capital rose by 1.8 per cent in September, the biggest increase of any T region. The two base-rate cuts expected in November and December should only serve to boost sales and prices over the winter. The big question for many working Londoners trying to buy their own home is whether the Budget will offer a leg-up onto the housing ladder.

The new homes maths just doesn't add up

The new Labour government announced aggressive housebuilding targets in July, more than doubling the rate that was delivered in London last year, from 35,000 annually to 80,000. While reversion back to hard targets is welcomed by property industry experts to address the supply shortfall, this ambitious target is 114 per cent higher than the recent average.