With average house prices soaring ahead by more than 16 per cent last year, taking the first step on to the property ladder is becoming more difficult.

Most mortgage lenders will lend 3.25 times an individual's salary or 2.75 times a couple's, while many also require a deposit of at least five per cent of the property's value, putting the dream of owning a home out of reach.

Halifax recently said firsttime buyers were now priced out of the market in one in three towns in Britain, rising to 133 out of 168 in the south of England, including many parts of Sussex.

With the housing market showing no signs of slowing, increasing numbers of people feel it is a case of buying a property now or never.

What can would-be homeowners do if they want to buy a house but property in their area costs more than the traditional income multiples banks and building societies are prepared to lend?

Online mortgage broker Charcol estimates the number of people excluded from the property market could be more than halved if people explore all the options available to them.

Wayne Gibbs, of Charcol's Brighton branch, said: "Increased demand and concern among first-time buyers has prompted many lenders to adopt an innovative or pragmatic approach to aid people trying to get a foothold on the property ladder."

Some mortgage lenders were willing to lend 100 per cent of a property's value, while others would take into account income from renting out a room.

The difference between the best five-year fixed deal borrowing 95 per cent of a house's value and 100 per cent was only 0.5 per cent more on the repayments.

Newcastle Building Society offers the most competitive rate at 5.99 per cent but other providers worth looking at are Mortgage Express and Northern Rock.

Other lenders are becoming more happy to offer first-time buyers higher-income multiples, with many prepared to lend four times someone's salary, depending on the individual's financial circumstances.

Newcastle Building Society will lend up to £250,000 to a young professional on a salary starting at £15,000, providing their parents are prepared to act as guarantor and their salary will grow rapidly over five years.

Its guarantor mortgage was launched in February, aimed at young professionals who may not be able to afford a house on traditional earnings multiples now but would be able to in a few years' time.

The building society will lend 100 per cent of the property's value as long as a parent or close relative acts as a guarantor and has enough income to cover both his or her own mortgage and the shortfall between the amount the borrower would normally be offered and the actual size of the loan.

It is hoped at the end of the five-year term the borrower will be earning enough to afford the mortgage on his or her own.

Other lenders were prepared to disregard traditional income multiples and instead calculate how much they will lend based on affordability.

Standard Life Bank, Nationwide and Intelligent Finance will all take into account how much cash someone has to spare after meeting all financial commitments or how much rent he or she was used to paying when assessing how much they will lend.

Another option is increasing the amount you could borrow by renting a room out.

The MarketPlace at Bradford and Bingley has just launched a mortgage, funded by Mortgage Express, that allows borrowers to include money from letting one of the rooms in their property when working out income multiples.

The scheme allows people to add £4,250, the amount of tax-free rental income allowed each year, on to an income multiple of 3.25 times salary.

Borrowers can also choose from any of Mortgage Express's current deals, including a two-year fixed rate of 4.79 per cent.

Editor of Your Mortgage magazine Paula John expressed concern at how far some first-time buyers were prepared to go to get on the property ladder.

She said: "I would urge caution. In the current benign economic climate, it is all very well stretching oneself to the nth degree to become a homeowner but, should interest rates rise or unemployment increase, it could hit first-time buyers extremely hard."

Head of group economics at Halifax Gary Styles said:

"What has happened to firsttime buyers, particularly in London and the South-East, is a symptom of a market that is stretched."

Nationwide's group economist Alex Bannister warned:

"Lenders should be careful they are not overburdening first-time buyers by stretching them to the limit."

Potential homeowners should try to have a deposit as it gives them some insulation against negative equity if the price of their property falls.