Move aside Kensington, make way Richmond – Sutton has been named the UK’s no 1 property hotspot.

This revelation, made by online estate agent eMoov, and based on the demand for homes put on the market, will delight homeowners looking to sell, with research from property website Zoopla, showing 39 properties sold in Sutton in February 2010 increased in value by an average of £135,925 in the past five years.

House prices in south London have soared to a record high in recent years, but this has had a negative impact on prospective first-time renters and buyers living in Sutton who are being forced to consider leaving the borough in order to live independently.

Neil Warne, owner of Burn and Warne independent estate agents in Sutton, said: “Sutton is seeing the old local buyer replaced with the new London buyer arriving from places like Canary Wharf and north London.

“House pricing since 2007 has effectively priced out a whole generation of first- time buyers, with these people now being in their 30s rather than their 20s.”

According to research from the National Housing Association, a £65,560 annual income is needed to afford a typical mortgage in Sutton.

With the average income listed as £30,155, under half of the needed income for a mortgage, first-time buyers will ultimately find themselves forced to live with parents for far longer before leaving the nest.

Emma Leahy, 22, a PR intern, is living at home in Sutton with her parents after returning from university.

She said: “I really don’t want to rent because I feel like its throwing away any chance of a mortgage, but I also don’t want to stay at home forever.

“Obviously I’d love to live a bit closer [to Sutton] for the cheaper taxis and cheaper travel expenses. “Prices just seem so unreasonable unless you’re flat sharing.”

Mairead Carroll, external affairs manager for London at the National Housing Federation, said: “Soaring house prices in Sutton and across London are putting home ownership further out of reach for many local families.

“When home ownership is out of reach, private rents are rising and we have a growing shortage of affordable housing, alarm bells should be ringing.”

Mr Warne predicts, as typical with the property market, that those looking for homes will eventually see that essential drop in the market a few years down the line, but until then, people will have to accept that there is a huge demand for housing near London that simply cannot be affordable for everyone.