If you look at data that has been compiled over the past 25 years, house prices increase, on average (this is taking into consideration varying prices by region), by 8% per year. However, salaries only increase by, possibly, just 3% per year. So it's not surprising that so many people would like to buy a property, but find it difficult.

Thankfully for those who are yet to get on the property ladder, property prices have begun to decline in the past six months. It’s impossible however to predict what will happen over the next six. This is because there are many external factors affecting the UK economy.

This article is going to show you why it is important to be patient even when prices are rising.

Keep on saving

The longer you wait the more deposit you can save. You might not have thought about this but, you can grow your deposit faster than house prices grow, particular in the current market conditions. This can help to offset that your salary is probably not growing in line with house rises.

The average price of a first time buy in 2007 rose to £159,494, according to the housing charity Shelter. (In the capital this rises to £260,000) This equates to a 200% rise in house prices over the last decade; with average weekly income only rising by 53% in the last 10 years.

For our example lets round the average price to £160,000. If by some very nifty accounting work and some determination you are able to save £500pm for a deposit. After a year you will have a £6,000 deposit.

House prices, on average would rise by 8%, so they have gone from £160,000 to about £173,000. This means you now only have a 3.5% deposit for your property. After another year of saving, the average property is worth £187,000 assuming that prices continue to rise at 8%, but you now have a deposit of £12,000, which equates to 6.5%. You now have enough money to start comparing mortgage deals.

If you continued saving for another four years you could save £6,000pa. If house prices continue to rise by 8% in four years, first-time-buyer prices are now around £218,000. But your deposit is now £24,000 not including any interest earnt. If you’re smart you will store your cash in a high interest savings account. Your deposit now makes up around 11% of the value of a property allowing you to get a better mortgage deal than with a 5% deposit. A bigger deposit also enables you to move quicker on a purchase if you need to.

Hold on to your pay packet

For our example I will assume that you are purchasing with someone else as is the most typical scenario. If your combined household income is £48,000. This will give you a salary multiple of 3.3 times earnings today for a property worth £160,000. But in two years you might expect the property prices to creep up to 3.8 times earnings. So, prices are steadily getting worse, despite the gains you are making with the deposit.

There are however problems with biting the bullet and going for a purchase. One being that the 100% mortgage is no longer available, and 95% mortgages are becoming more expensive. A big deposit gives you access to a lot more deals.

In year 1 no mortgages will be available to you as you only have 3.5% deposit. In year two you now have the minimum amount of deposit required opening up a selection of the mortgage market. In year four you now have 11% deposit opening up more of the mortgage market to you and giving you access to better deals. Even though the salary multiple is increasing year on year, you are more likely to pay less in interest and charges because there is more competition for your business. A cheaper mortgages is more than likely to offset the difference in the salary multiple.

Recently mortgage deals have been disappearing from the market but this is not likely to last forever. Also, house prices in many areas have fallen this year which is a god thing for most as house prices have been rising phenomenally over the past 5-10 years.

The main thing you should consider when purchasing a property is how much the deal costs in fees and monthly repayments, and the total cost over the life of the mortgage. Affordability is being able to afford the initial repayments, but you also need to consider whether you could afford the repayments if interest rates went up one or two per cent. Other things you need to consider are can you afford the additional costs of being a homeowner, like maintenance and insurance.

Now more than ever it will be better to be patient then to rush to market. Take time to save. Of course the market won’t go up at a rate of 8% every year. It might go up faster. But it could also slow decline, as it has done over the past six months.