First-time buyers fork out £63,000 in rent payments before they get onto the property ladder
BECOMING a first-time buyer is becoming harder as a recent study reveals that the average adult will have coughed up over £63,000 in rent before they can buy their own home.
That's about a quarter of the average cost of a property in the UK - which is £229,000 - spent just on rent.
On average, people rent for eight-and-a-half years before first-time buying, which is how the extortionate rent costs rack up to £63,225.
The average cost to rent a property has been soaring through the roof, leading to an average of £625 paid to landlords each month.
But it's no secret that now, owning a home can cost less than your rent.
Tim Beale, chief executive officer for leading UK homebuilder Keepmoat Homes, says that "the standard monthly mortgage repayments would make you approximately £100 a month better off than paying the typical £625 rent.";
A few people are lucky, with the research showing that four in 10 first-time buyers get financial support from their parents, whilst a fifth rely on inheritance.
But not all are so fortunate - a quarter of prospective buyers move back in with their parents, in an attempt to save on rent.
Wannabe homeowners have to cut back on a lot to come up with the necessary deposit - selling clothes, old technology and living off a basic diet is how one first-time buyer saved her £6,000.
Unfortunately, for those still renting, it is thought that it will be another four years before they're able to make it onto the property ladder.
Or perhaps moving is the answer - residents of Derby and Aberdeen spend less than 30 per cent of their annual salary on rent.
Either way, three quarters of the 2,000 adults in the study believe saving for their first home while renting is "impossible".
The ones who were lucky enough to have bought saying they spent almost five years saving and the ones still renting think they'll be at it for another four.
It's worth noting the help you can get in order to own your own home.
Mr Beale adds that there is "the government-backed Help to Buy scheme which can help you save for a deposit; to shared ownership programmes that enable you to buy a percentage of your new home."
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