Autumn statement: the first-time buyer's view

Production editor David Whittam is 33 and lives with his girlfriend Sonia, 34, in a one-bed rented flat in Kilburn. They have a household income of £53,000 and are saving for a deposit to buy their first property. Whittam said the autumn statement was disappointing for first-time buyers, with little beyond what had already been announced in the government's housing strategy. "We moved from a flat in Cricklewood to our current flat because the rent was too high at about £1,000 a month, and we're now paying £860. We've finally paid off all our student debt and we are hoping to save about £3,000 a year. "But the average price of a property where we live is £360,000, which means we'd need to save about £70,000 to get a 20% deposit – that would take us 25 years. We're massively struggling because rents are so high in London – it leaves little left over to save. I guess we're what you'd call the squeezed middle. "I suppose we could live in a house share and pay less rent, but at our age we don't really want to be living like students. Our flat was on the market for £200,000 before the owner decided to rent it out – even that would have required a deposit of 40% for us to get a decent mortgage. It's impossible. "The mortgage indemnity scheme is all very well – a 5% deposit is easier to save than a 20% one – but it doesn't address the fact that house prices are still out of reach for most. The banks just aren't going to lend five or six times our wages so we can afford to buy somewhere. "I'm pleased the right-to-buy scheme is being extended for those in social housing but hope that more affordable housing will be built to sustain the amount available for those who need it. A 50% reduction in house prices would be lovely for us as well. "So I'd like to see an expansion of shared-ownership schemes, built in places where people want to live. The nearest suitable schemes we've found mean we'd both have to travel about two hours each way to get to work in central London. If we could get on a shared-ownership scheme we could maybe buy half a £200,000 property with a deposit of £20,000 or less, which seems more manageable. "The end of the stamp duty freeze just makes things even tougher and is a real blow for those of us trying to buy – although trying to find somewhere for less than £250,000 in London was always difficult anyway."