The latest research shows that in October those looking to buy were borrowing a record 3.27 times their salary in order to take out a mortgage.
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Some lenders have begun to offer first-time buyers up to five times their annual incomes to allow them to get a foot on the property ladder.
Bernard Clarke of the CML said: “It is a reflection of the growing affordability problem of first-time buyers. But it is offset by lower borrowing costs.”
Abbey and the Co-operative Bank are both currently offering mortgages up to five times a person’s salary a big change from the days when it was standard to lend at most 3.5 times a single person’s salary or 2.5 times the combined salary of a couple.
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Banks and building societies are increasingly looking at the finances of the individual when it comes to decisions on lending, with each customer’s disposable income and credit store being taken into consideration.
Rising house prices and a lack of affordability has resulted in the number of first-time buyers falling in recent years.
Between 1997 and 2002, the number of first-time buyers mostly stayed well over 500,000 per year, but in the last three years this has dropped to around 365,000 a year.
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