Why buying their own home is so much harder for women

Women are less likely to own their own home than men and are more likely to live within close proximity of their hometowns, parents and place of work.

New research has highlighted the huge gap in gender house price affordability as a result of the imbalance in pay between the average man and woman, meaning women are facing a far longer and harder task when it comes to saving for, and paying off a property purchase.

The research found that with an annual gross income of £38,061, the average British male requires 7.3 times their annual salary in order to cover the current average property price of £278,120.

In contrast, the average British female requires 11.1 times her average annual income of £25,154 to cover the same property cost, almost four years more than her male homebuying counterpart.

London is predictably home to the largest gender house price affordability gap. The average London male would require 10.3 times their current annual gross earnings to cover the cost of a London property (£521,146), while for a female homebuyer this climbs to 15.6 - a gap of 5.3 years.

The South East, South West and East of England are also home to a gender house price affordability gap of five times annual salary or more.