The average first-time-buyer in Greater Manchester will need to earn £44,000 a year by 2020, in order to take that first step in the property ladder.

This is according to research by homeless charity, Shelter, which found that Mancunians will need a deposit of £25,000 to keep up with rising house prices, which are projected to rise to £165,000 over the next four years.

The research looked at the salary and deposit currently needed for the average first time buyer today, and calculated what they would be in 2020 if they grew in line with projected increases in house prices.

And across the UK these numbers are even higher, with the average first-time home set to rise to £270,000 by 2020 and wages, £64,000, leaving many even further away from taking their first step on the property ladder than ever before.

Yet these figures will come as no surprise given that, over the last five years, the country’s severe housing shortage has seen house prices rise six times faster than wages.

As the Government’s Housing Bill passes through the House of Lords, Shelter warns that unless the government commits to building affordable housing for the average person to buy, then the problem is only going to get worse.

Shelter’s Chief Executive, Campbell Robb, said: “When house prices are increasing six times faster than the average wage, it’s no wonder people on ordinary incomes are being locked out of a home of their own.

“Generation Rent will be forced to resign themselves to a life in expensive, unstable private renting, and wave goodbye to their dreams of a home to put down roots in.

“It doesn’t have to be like this. The Government has the power to turn our housing crisis around, but only if they stop with schemes like Starter Homes which only help higher earners, and start investing in homes that people on ordinary incomes can actually afford to live in.”