Ilkley is the second least affordable town in the country for first-time buyers, a report claimed today.

The study by the Halifax shows that average home values in the town were 11.9 times that of the average income.

Only Henley-on-Thames was less affordable, with average property prices 13.1 times the average income of a first-time buyer household.

The report also showed that the number of first-time home buyers has sunk to its lowest point since 1980.

An estimated 300,000 first-time buyers entered the market in 2007 - 15,000 fewer than a year earlier - because of soaring prices, mortgage lender Halifax said.

The average price paid by a first-time buyer increased by 15 per cent during the year to £175,093 and has soared 82 per cent over the past five years.

Martin Ellis, Halifax chief economist, said rising property values had priced many potential buyers out of the housing market. He said: "When they do enter the market, first-time buyers are now more likely to be in their 30s rather than their 20s and buy a flat rather than a terraced house."

Industry body the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said conditions for first-time buyers should begin to thaw in the coming year.