First-time buyers need to be earning 9% more than three years ago to get on the property ladder, Zoopla claims.

Research by the portal – based on mortgages of up to four times an applicant’s income – found that first-time buyers need to be earning an average £54,400 to buy a typical UK property.

This was up 9% since June 2016.

The required incomes range from £26,137 in Liverpool to £84,000 in London.

However, falling prices and lower mortgage rates have meant the income required to buy in the most expensive cities of London, Cambridge and Oxford has dropped by up to 5%.

The research also claimed first-time buyers require an average £38,418 deposit across the UK, ranging from £18,449 in Liverpool to £119,000 in London.

Its data also shows annual price growth in the UK’s largest cities was up 1.8% to £256,200. Liverpool had the highest growth at 5%.

Richard Donnell, research and insight Director at Zoopla, said: “First-time buyers are an important group accounting for more than one in three sales.

“While the average household income to buy a typical home across UK cities has grown 9% since 2016, weaker price growth and recent price falls have led to a 5% reduction in the income to buy across the most expensive cities.

“It will come as a modest relief for would-be buyers although the income to purchase still remains relatively high. While it is a factor behind weaker house price growth it supports underlying demand for rental homes.

“Affordability remains attractive in many regional cities where house prices have not registered the gains seen in south-eastern England. Liverpool has the lowest income required to buy and has the highest rate of price growth at 5%.

“We expect prices to continue to increase in cities where housing is in reach of those on average incomes.”