Climbing on to the housing ladder is harder than at any time since 1990, according to Britain’s leading property organisation, which warns in a report published on Wednesday that first-time buyers will face affordability problems for decades to come.

Housing affordability has deteriorated to near record levels, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said, because of the decade-long boom in house prices and, more recently, rising interest rates. David Stubbs, Rics senior economist, said the fall-out in the US subprime mortgage market could make it even harder for aspiring homeowners.