SEVENOAKS is the most expensive UK town for a first-time buyer. Research from the Halifax shows that owning a home is beyond the reach of a single first-time buyer on average earnings in more than one-third of the 451 towns surveyed across Britain.

There is a clear north south divide too, with property out of reach for the average earner in four-fifths of the towns examined in southern England (133 out of the total of 168 surveyed).

By contrast, the same is true for only one town in 10 outside the south (30 out of the total of 283 towns surveyed).

The gap between the income required by a typical first-time buyer to purchase a property and local earnings is at its highest in Sevenoaks. A first-time buyer in the town needs to earn £63,304 to purchase the average priced property of £216,566 - £39,358 higher than average earnings in Kent of £23,946.

At the other end of the spectrum, Leven in Scotland is the most affordable town in the country with a first-time buyer needing an income of £9,933 - £13,389 below average earnings in the count.