The inaugural edition of Halifax's Annual First Time Buyer Review shows that of the 667 main UK postal towns, 531 (80%) were unaffordable for the majority of those buying their first home during the last year.

First-time buyers paid 17 per cent more for their first home in 2003, as prices rose from £96,007 in 2002 to £112,541 in 2003, says the report.

Over the last twelve months, two regions have seen the biggest price increases: First-time buyers in the North experienced a 35 per cent rise whilst in Wales they saw a rise of 32 per cent in the cost of buying their first home.

The UK average house price to earnings ratio for first-time buyers was 4.27 in 2003 compared to 3.64 in 2002.

Stamp duty

In 2003, for the first time, the average first-time buyer in every region in the UK paid stamp duty. The average first-time buyer now pays more than £1,000 in stamp duty, equivalent to around 6% of their deposit or around two weeks of their annual income.

More and more first-time buyers are falling into the stamp duty net because the government has declined to index link the £60,000 threshold. The threshold has remained unchanged since 1993.

Other first-time buyer facts:

• The number of first time buyers dropped by 32% last year.
• The average age of a first-time buyer is now 34. In Scotland and Wales it is 36 years.
• The proportion of those aged 25 and under buying their first home remains low, at just 16 per cent of first-time buyer home purchases.
• The average deposit of £20,000 made by a FTB now accounts for almost 20 per cent of the value of the property. First-time buyers have responded to increasing prices in a prudent manner by increasing the size of the deposits they make.
• Terraced housing and flats & maisonettes are the property type of choice for first-time buyers.
• The number of single females buying their first home has increased from 22 per cent in 2002 to 23 per cent in 2003. On the other hand, the number of single male first-time buyers has reduced from 27 per cent in 2002 to 26 per cent in 2003.