Young people need 'major lifestyle changes' to get on property ladder

Living at home with their parents for longer is just one way in which young people can boost their chances of getting on the property ladder, according to PricedOut.

Katy John, press officer for the organisation, said that "major lifestyle compromises" are needed so that they can afford to build up a big enough deposit to purchase a home.

This includes moving out to cheaper areas and facing longer commutes into work. Co-locating for a bigger period of time and reducing spending on nights out and other luxuries will also help.

"The government needs to take real action now and stop looking to small-scale housing gimmicks such as the NewBuy scheme, which does more to help disgruntled house builders than first-time buyers," Ms John said.

Her words came after Halifax revealed that 67 per cent of all affordable housing sales were accounted for by first time buyers, with the average price paid under these schemes being £161,839.