The disparity between how much people are saving for retirement and how much they will actually live on is getting wider, says Claire Barker.
The housing market is being stifled by a lack of first-time buyers and economic confidence, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says.
Property prices have risen 0.5% in May, producing annual growth of nearly 10%, according to the Nationwide House price index.
The rate of UK house price inflation has entered double figures for the first time since the credit crisis began.
The number of mortgage products available surpassed 2,500 last week, for the first time since May 2009.
More than one million householders in the UK have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the past 12 months, according to a survey by homeless charity Shelter.
The mortgage market is on the road to recovery after four months of sustained growth - but there are still less mortgages available than at the start of the year, according to moneysupermarket.com
House prices continued to rise in November - despite an increase in the number of properties available.
Valuation activity has risen by over 50% compared to November 2008 which shows a growing confidence in the housing market, according to the latest data from Connells Survey & Valuation.
More than half of consumers now expect house prices to be higher this time next year, a survey suggests, representing a huge change in sentiment from earlier in 2009.