Getting on the property ladder can feel like a pipe dream – and being told to cut back on takeaway flat whites and avocado toast to achieve it doesn't exactly help.
More useful, however, is new research revealing which towns and cities across the UK could be best – and worst – for first-time buyers.
Property website Compare My Move compiled the rankings by calculating how long it could take young property renters living in the UK's 50 biggest town and cities to save for a first home deposit.
They calculated how long it could take to save for a typical 15% first-home deposit, as well as the smaller 5% deposit needed under the government's Help to Buy scheme.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
Taking into account average local wages, realistic living costs, and average rent prices for a room in a house share, Compare My Move estimated that young renters living in Burnley could save for a 5% deposit in just seven months, and a 15% deposit in one year and nine months.
At the other end of the spectrum, young renters living in Oxford could save for five years and eight months for a 5% deposit, and a massive 16 years and 12 months for a 15% deposit.
Unsurprisingly, London also features in the list of "worst cities" for first-time buyers, with typical saving times of three years and seven months for a 5% deposit and 10 years and seven months for a 15% deposit.
"In many cities it’s a race against rent to save a deposit as a prospective first time buyer. In cities and towns where rent greatly outstrips the national average, it can take more than a decade for renters in their twenties to save up a 15% deposit," said Compare My Move's Dave Sayce.
"It’s clear from our research that the Help to Buy scheme acts as an important catalyst for getting renters on the property ladder, and its extension to 2023 in the recent budget will act as a lifeline to generation rent."
The 10 "best cities" for first-time buyers using 15% and 5% deposits:
1. Burnley (1 year and 9 months to save £10,436; 7 months to save £3,479)
2. Dundee (1 year and 10 months to save £14,998; 8 months to save £4,999)
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
3. Hull (2 years and 3 months to save £14,776; 9 months to save £4,925)
4. Sunderland(2 years and 4 months to save £14,930; 10 months to save £4,977)
5. Blackpool (2 years and 5 months to save £14,306; 10 months to save£4,769)
6. Liverpool (2 years and 5 months to save £17,026; 10 months to save £5,675)
7. Glasgow(2 years and 6 months to save £17,168; 10 months to save £5,723)
8. Preston(2 years and 6 months to save £16,098; 10 months to save £5,366)
9. Doncaster (2 years and 7 months to save £16,59; 11 months to save £5,530)
10. Huddersfield (2 years and 7 months to save £18,927; 11 months to save £6,309)
The 10 "worst cities" for first-time buyers using 15% and 5% deposits:
1. Oxford (16 years and 12 months to save £53,105; 5 years and 8 months to save £17,701)
2. Cambridge (14 years and 3 months to save £55,551; 4 years and 9 months to save £18,517)
3. Reading (10 years and 9 months to save £41,147; 3 years and 7 months to save £13,715)
4. London (10 years and 7 months to save£63,070; 3 years and 7 months to save £21,023)
5. Slough (9 years and 5 months to save £41,711; 3 years and 2 months to save £13,903)
6. Crawley (9 years and 2 months to save £38,324; 3 years and 1 month to save £12,775)
7. Bristol (7 years and 8 months to save £37,862; 2 years and 7 months to save £12,691)
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
8. Poole (7 years and 7 months to save £35,851; 2 years and 7 months to save £11,950)
9. Swindon (6 years and 1 month to save £28,146; 2 years and 1 month to save £9,381)
10. Southend-on-Sea (5 years and 9 months to save £35,768; 1 year and 11 months to save £11,923)
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT