The quintessential English garden is fast becoming a thing of the past, especially if you live in areas of high demand such as London and the South East, according to a report commissioned by Woolwich.

The research, conducted by CEBR, predicts that by 2025 the typical three bed semi will be a rarity, with housing stock split between smaller more compact dwellings for first time buyers, and a return to the Victorian era where generations of families buy together in order to get more space.

Increasing levels of divorce and separation mean that the trend towards single person households will grow by 2025. Alongside this initiatives such as the government’s ‘Homes for All’ policy, will result in homes being smaller and built closer together, with gardens, garages and conservatories all being sacrificed.

Andy Gray, head of mortgages at Woolwich, said: "Whilst the future looks sunnier for first time buyers, it’s increasingly looking like they won’t have a garden to enjoy it in. Increased availability and affordability of houses mean that things are looking up for first time buyers, but this will come at a price."

"At the other end of the scale, we expect to see generations of families moving into larger properties together in order to maximise space. This may have added benefits in terms of child care and nursing costs for elderly relatives."

An increase in smaller starter homes will mean that the share of homes available to first time buyers should increase. Woolwich predict that this effect could increase the share of homes available to first time buyers to 52.3 per cent of homes in 2025 — a small increase of 1.7 percentage points from the situation today.

The average house price is set to rise to £333,000 in 2025 but it isn’t all bad news for first time buyers, as earnings are set to keep pace with house price inflation, both growing by 1.4 times between 2004 and 2025. Regional outlook

With the number of households set to rise by 17.5 per cent by 2025, this report also reveals a new North South divide for first time buyer affordability. The report analyses regional house price inflation, earnings growth and changes in the housing stock and reveals the following statistics:

• First time buyers wanting to live in the South East will be hardest hit. The number of homes in the south east under the average house price of £150,000 will drop dramatically from 45 per cent in 2005 to just 15 per cent in 2025 meaning first time buyers will only be able to afford to buy 15 per cent of homes in the region.
• First time buyers wanting to live in the West Midlands will be the best off, where it is predicted that they will be able to afford up to 60 per cent of the homes in the region in 2025 compared to just 45 per cent now. Again, based on the average house price of £150,000.
• First time buyers wanting to live in the North East, North West, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside will all find that they will be able to afford more homes in 2025 than they can now in these regions with more houses being priced below the average house price.