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Home buyers in Britain earning about $54,000 a year need more than that to cover their initial mortgage costs, a recent study showed, The Times of London reported.

Under current financial guidelines, couples earning $54,250 a year would be required to pay $54,723 to cover the deposit, stamp duty and solicitor's fees for the average home, a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors report said.

Couples earning an average wage would need two-thirds of their take home pay to cover their initial mortgage costs, the Times reported.

In 1998, a couple with average earnings only needed to come up with one-fifth of their combined salaries to purchase a home, the report said.

"The picture does not look like improving in the latter part of 2008 and first-time buyers will find their path to home ownership increasingly blocked", David Stubbs, an economist at RICS said.

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