Mortgage lenders' demands for larger deposits and higher interest rates have priced people out of the market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

In 2002, buyers had to put down 8% of a property's price as their deposit but the figure is now 30% - an average of £65,600.

Many lenders are also demanding rents equalling 125% of the monthly mortgage repayment, which has proved difficult in some parts of the country where rents are falling, the BBC reported.