How property prices and salaries compare

According to the UK

House Price Index, the average price of a property in England - as of March 2020 - was £248,271.

In Kent, the top three most expensive areas to purchase a property were Sevenoaks, Tunbridge

Wells and Tonbridge - and the average cost in those places was well above the national average. They were £454,103, £421,075 and £373,567, respectively.

The average annual salary in those boroughs ranged from £34,000 in Sevenoaks to £36,000 in Tunbridge Wells.

That means in Sevenoaks, on average, families need to find a minimum deposit of £22,700 - two thirds of the average annual wage.

On the other end of the scale, the cheapest areas in Kent to purchase a property were Swale, Thanet and Dover, where the average cost was £234,096 in Swale, £234,375 in Thanet and £243,833 in Dover.

In Swale, where average earnings are £31,000 a year, an average deposit of £11,700 would be needed a third of a buyer’s annual income.

The average deposit needed in Sevenoaks is £11k