Emma Harris, a software engineer, is earning £50,000 per annum but could not save enough for a house deposit. This makes her leave her in tears. Emma is not the only one, says a new study by Skipton Group, that only one in eight of renters could buy a house in their area. High rent, bills, and expensive house prices place the biggest burden on renters entering the first-time buyers’ market.

Skipton Group research, conducted with Oxford Economics, indicates tenants are four times less likely to be able to purchase a home when compared to homeowners. Tenant Emma Harris, from Birmingham, says the average price of a first-time buyer’s home in the West Midlands last year was £215,000. She complains that the bills and the rent swallow about two-thirds of her salary. “I feel trapped and sad because I don’t think I’ll ever own a house,” she said.

Emma would like to save up for a deposit, but it is so very difficult being able to do so. “I want to cry, scream, and shout, but it won’t help. I can’t save enough money every month,” she said. She often has sleepless nights worrying about this.

Emma is also dubious that housing construction will help her situation. She believes mortgage lenders should consider her regular rent payments to the landlord when positing that she cannot afford a mortgage.

The study looked at people’s ability to buy and hold a home within England, Wales, and Scotland. Skipton Group, the Bank of England, and the Office for National Statistics provided the data. They looked at the average price of a first-time buyer home in various locations.

“It showed that the best place for first-time buyers to get a home in the UK was Scotland—with house prices being lower—and in the East of England because of higher wages; but it was hardest in the West Midlands and Wales due to a mix of low savings and moderate property prices, and in London due to high house prices.”.

Stuart Haire, chief executive of the Skipton Group, said the message was that renters can’t buy a house. He went on to say that the cost of high rent and energy, combined with other bills and essential lifestyle costs, in a lot of cases makes it hard for renters to save for a decent deposit—no matter how much money they earn. Only less than 1 per cent of those earning less than £22,850 a year could buy a home in their area. Only 44 per cent of those earning more than £71,250 a year could afford a first home.

“For some, our findings show a very bleak picture, especially for first-time buyers,” said Haire.

Another report by First Direct, part of HSBC, said a third of private-sector tenants who recently faced rent increases couldn’t save anything. This makes it even harder to buy a house.

Emma Harris is not a unique story: the articulate, intelligent young lady can have a good salary, yet to no avail; against the huge rents and the challenge of saving for a deposit, owning a house becomes an unachievable ideal. This is a predicament that faces so many renters and causes them to feel anchored and hopeless when it comes to owning a home.