People looking for a home in London are struggling to be able to afford high property prices, it has been reported.

According to the Daily Mail, new figures from the Halifax have revealed that there has been a 40 per cent drop in the number of would-be-homeowners who are snapping up a home in the capital over the last five years.

The firm found that the cost of getting onto the housing ladder had dramatically increased since 2002, with prices now 54 per cent higher than before.

Martin Ellis, the firm''s chief economist, told the newspaper: "Only two boroughs, Newham and Barking and Dagenham, are now within the reach of the average first-time buyer in London."

However, he suggested that the widely predicted market slowdown may prove helpful, commenting: "House price growth below average earnings growth, together with more government initiatives, may in time begin to address the issue."

According to HBOS, Halifax''s parent company, the price of a home in London has shot up by 18.6 per cent in the last year alone, with average property now costing £320,847.