Young, single and priced out of buying a home in almost all of the country: Getting on the property ladder now a 'distant dream' In 80% of areas fewer than 1 in 10 homes affordable for single under-30s Seven areas where not one home on the market is within reach Grim picture also painted for families with children struggling to buy Single people are priced out of getting a first rung on the property ladder in almost all of the country, an alarming new study reveals. In 80 per cent of England fewer than one in 10 homes is within reach of people in their twenties trying to buy alone. Housing charity Shelter warned that the idea of owning a property "is quickly becoming a distant dream for the next generation." Priced out: New research by Shelter reveals how in almost every part of the country fewer than one in 10 homes on sale is within reach of single people trying to get on the property ladder A new analysis of the huge gap between average wages and soaring house prices reveals single people are the "most badly affected," Shelter said. In more 82 per cent of council areas, fewer than one in ten available properties is classed as affordable, based on raising a 20 per cent deposit and borrowing 3.3 times average incomes. In seven local authority areas there were no properties at all which are affordable to a single person. They are Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, Islington, and Ealing in London and Epsom and Ewell in Surrey. In another 13 areas - including Brent and Barnet in London, Elmbridge in Surrey and Brighton in Sussex - there were just a handful of properties which were affordable for a since person. Lauren and Ivan Pinney live in Brighton and both work full time. They are currently living in a flat share whilst attempting to save for a deposit. But the Shelter study suggests just a handful of homes are within reach. Mrs Pinney said: 'It's saddening to look in estate agents" windows and see so few properties that we could afford, even with the 20 per cent deposit we're saving so desperately for. 'Help to Buy isn't an option for us as it's just too expensive, and it upsets me to think that our situation is only going to get worse if house prices keep going up.' The North East was classed as the most affordable region, with 16 per cent of properties within reach of a single person, followed by the Yorkshire and Humber 11 per cent, North West 10 .6 per cent and the East Midlands 6.9 per cent. Things were little better for families. In 55 per cent of council areas fewer than one in 10 properties on the market were affordable to a couple with children on average wages. The problem is most acute in the south, with some areas of London having few or no homes which a family could buy. Outside the south there is also a band of low affordability areas across the north of England from the Lake District to the Vale of York. A third of two-bedroom homes are affordable for a local couple with children in the North East, compared with 30 per cent in Yorkshire and Humber, 28 per cent in the North West and 25.8 per cent in the East Midlands. In contrast, in London just 1.6 per cent of two-bedroom homes was affordable, followed by 6 per cent in the South East, 6.3 per cent in the South West and 10 per cent in the East of England. Campbell Robb, Shelter's chief executive, said: "When the number of affordable properties in an entire town can be counted on one hand, it's not difficult to see why a stable home of their own is quickly becoming a distant dream for the next generation. It's right that young people who aspire to own their own home should work hard and save each month, but with such a pitiful number of affordable homes on offer - even with a generous 20 per cent deposit - our housing shortage is holding them back. To assess the affordability of homes the charity examined the homes on sale on a single day, and compared them with the earnings of couples, families and single people and what they could borrow as first-time buyers. Family problems: Only tiny pockets of the country can claim to have more than half of homes within reach of a couple with children on average incomes The study, How much of the housing market is affordable?, suggests few will benefit from the Government's flagship Help to Buy scheme, which guarantees mortgages for people with only 5 per cent deposits. Mr Robb added: "Unless we build the affordable homes we desperately need, house prices will continue to rise and as a result more people will be forced to live at home with their parents into their thirties, or move into the expensive and unstable private rental market. Young people are working hard and doing their bit. Now the government has to meet people halfway and increase the supply of affordable homes - not the supply of credit - or the prospect of a home of their own will slip even further out of reach for future generations. Crisis: For couples without children the picture is slightly better, but in parts of London and the South East fewer than 50 homes are classed as affordable Overall the picture for couples without children is better, because they are better able to pool their incomes. Assuming that both partners work full-time, Shelter found there were no areas which had no homes at all which were affordable. 'However at the top of the table the proportions are still vanishingly small,' the report said. In 20 areas fewer than 6 per cent of two-bedroom homes were classed as affordable, mostly in London and the South East, but also including St Albans and Epping Forest in the East and South Hams in Devon. The South West has almost the same proportion of affordable properties as the South East.