AS house prices continue to rise across south Essex the hopes and dreams of would-be homeowners sink ever lower, with many fearing they will never get a foot on the property ladder.

According to the Office of National Statistics, in the space of just a year, from December 2015 to December 2016, Basildon average house prices shot up by 17 per cent from £259,285 to £304,188 and Southend house prices jumped by 14.3 per cent from £232,103 to £265,223.

Rochford prices went up by 11.1 per cent from £290,531 to £322,713 while Castle Point prices rose to £290,334, compared to £258,944 in 2015, an increase of 12.1 per cent.

Although estate agents are reporting that houses are still selling well despite the increases, many people are feeling priced out by the rise.

Aaron Alderson, 27, lives at home with his parents in Devonshire Close, Laindon, while he saves for a deposit. The health consultant said: “I feel like buying my own place would never happen if I started renting and that I’d never get my foot on the property ladder.

"I would like to stay in this area as I commute to London for work and south Essex is good for the trains but although I’m trying to get as much as I can together it’s very hard.

“Everything is ridiculously expensive. I’m lucky in that I have very supportive parents but it is not ideal. I went to see a property in Laindon and was shocked by how little you’d get for your money considering the investment it would need. But I’m worried if I don’t get a move on I’ll never be able to afford it if the prices keep going up.”

Nursery nurse Danielle Parry, 25, currently lives with her partner Martin Riley, 23, and their five-month-old son Danny in a rented house in Spar Road, Hockley, where they pay out £1,500 each month on rent and bills.

The family would love to own a home in Southend but feel rising prices are a huge barrier to them being able to afford it.

She said: “It feels like a massive barrier to owning our own home as the deposit goes up every time the prices grow. I sometimes wonder why I bother as we keep saving and every time we think we have enough it goes up again.

“We want to stay in the Southend area but we just feel completely out-priced.

“In order to be able to buy a place we will have to move out of the area, however all our family is around here so we don’t really want to. We would like to move into a place that could be our home for the future but that seems impossible if we stay in Hockley or were to move to Southend or Basildon.”

But David Abbott, director of the Basildon David Abbott Estate Agency, says people are still buying homes in south Essex despite the rising prices.

He said: “People are definitely still buying and stock levels are growing. We had a very buoyant finish to the year and to the start of this year too.”

However, he added: “If someone is looking at a £180,000 property and put away £500 per month - a big amount - it would still take them three years to save the money for a deposit.

“It’s very hard, but we are still seeing first time buyers - although we are also seeing lots of people downsizing their homes so they can help their children out too.”

Paul Flavin, director of Zing Mortgages in Southend, agrees south Essex was still popular. He said: “We have a lot of economic growth in this area and it’s this which is driving prices up.”