FIRST-TIME buyers in East Lancashire could save enough money to buy a house in a quarter of the time it would take someone in the capital, it has emerged.

According to data from Coulters Property, if prospective Blackburn with Darwen buyers were to save 10 per cent of their monthly salary for a 10 per cent house deposit, it would take a total of five years and 11 months to get their foot on the property ladder.

Meanwhile those in London could have to save for 24 years and 10 months with the average house price at £771,903.

In Blackburn with Darwen, the average price of a home is £123,249, meaning buyers would need to save £12,325 for the deposit. The average salary in the borough is £21,221, meaning first-time home owners would need to save 10 per cent of their salary - £2,122 - a year for nearly six years.

Even though data from the Land Registry shows that house prices in Blackburn have increased by 18.72 per cent in the last five years, it is still one of the easier places in the country to work your way onto the property ladder.

Assistant Manager of Blackburn’s Entwistle Green, Julie Bracewell said: “At the moment the properties we are getting on the market are in a variety of different price ranges but there seems to be first time buyers in every price range up to £220,000.

“It keeps the market moving because we get first time buyer in most price brackets.

“By getting first time buyers at the bottom of the chain helps other people to move up the ladder and keep the whole chain of transactions moving along.”

The easiest place to buy a home in East Lancashire is in Burnley with calculations showing it takes three years and 11 months on average to save. Using the same calculations, the Ribble Valley is the most difficult place to buy with it being estimated that it would take seven years and 10 months to save a deposit.

In the North West, it takes seven years and seven months to save for a home, which makes it the easiest place to buy in the country.