AVERAGE house prices for first-time buyers in the district have risen by nearly a third over the past five years, new figures show.

Latest data from the Land Registry house price index shows that first-time buyers in the Bradford district were paying an average of £154,700 for a house in April.

That is up 30 per cent from an average of £118,900 five years earlier.

Overall house prices in the district have also jumped by 30 per cent over the period, reaching £173,000 in April this year.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s property expert, says reduced mortgage rates would help first-time buyers in the short term.

According to the latest statistics, the average mortgage payment for a typical first-time buyer in Great Britain has risen by 61 per cent over the past five years, from £667 a month in 2019 to £1,075 this year.

Mr Bannister adds: "As rates have increased over the last five years, the amount that a typical first-time buyer is paying each month on a mortgage has outstripped the pace of earning growth.

"Some first-time buyers are looking at extending their mortgage terms to 30 or 35 years to lower monthly payments, or looking at cheaper homes for sale so that they need to borrow less."

Propertymark, a membership organisation for estate agents, said surging interest rates and inflation had impacted the housing market “with force”.

Nathan Emerson, chief executive, added that the organisation was keen to see targeted support for first-time buyers.

"The potential of home ownership should never be a prospect that is ever out of reach for people," he said.

"As inflation is now back within the range initially targeted, we are optimistic to see the base rate cut as soon as realistically possible, which would be very welcome news for people stepping onto the housing ladder."

In its latest monthly report, Propertymark said the average UK house price increased by £946 to £281,373 in April. The figure is around eight times that of average annual gross earnings. And the number of new registered prospective buyers has dropped.

The most recent Land Registry figures also show a significant drop in housing sales compared to five years ago, with some 26,600 sales across Great Britain in February this year compared to 66,000 in the same month of 2019.

In the Bradford district, there were 204 sales in February this year, down from 594 five years earlier.