According to research from mortgage giant, Abbey, 53 per cent of first-time buyers would give up their holiday and almost half would abstain from alcohol.

A further one in five would give up renting and move back in with their parents to save money.

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The survey of potential first-time buyers also revealed that one in ten would even sacrifice their relationship/dating if they thought this would help. More worryingly, more than 2.9 million people would turn off their heating to help raise a deposit for their first home.

While across the country, almost half of potential buyers would give up alcohol, the exception is the North East, where the figure is just 12 per cent. The Scots are least likely to move back in with their parents, with only seven per cent willing to make the move compared to the 21 per cent national average.

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According to the Royal Institute of Chartered surveyors (RICS), over the past ten years the rise in house prices has been so pronounced that accessibility is almost 230 per cent worse than in 1996, and is currently as low as the levels experienced in 1980.

A couple who are buying for the first time, will now have to save up to the equivalent of 81.8 per cent of their joint take home pay to build up the £32, 784 needed for up-front buying costs on a typical home, deposit and stamp duty.

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Nici Audhlam Gardiner, Head of Mortgages at Abbey, said: “With first-time buyers struggling to get onto the first rung of the property ladder, prospective homeowners are having to make big sacrifices to build their finances.

“However, with a typical first-time buyer taking as long as five years to save up a 5 per cent deposit, people would need an iron will to sacrifice anything they enjoy for that long.”