The average prospective buyer predicts they will be 37 years old by the time they finally step on the property ladder, up from 32 years old only two years ago.

The survey by First Direct also found that 86% of prospective first-time buyers considered the cost-of-living crisis to be the biggest barrier to buying a property and 77% said they were worried about inflationary and recessionary pressures on their finances. Nearly 60% said the difficulty of saving up a deposit had made them delay their plans.

The average first-time buyer thinks it would take them 7.5 years to save enough for a mortgage deposit, compared to existing homeowners who had taken on average only five years to secure their first home.

Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage