Young married couples who are currently renting continue to wait to get on to the housing ladder because they cannot afford to buy, reveals Alliance & Leicester Mortgages movingimproving index.

The study shows that one in four (25%) married renters would like to get on to the housing ladder, but simply cannot afford to make the move from renter to homeowner. Only one in ten (13%) of married renters are in a position to buy their first home compared with six per cent of singletons who rent.

Singletons are also finding it hard to get on the housing ladder with 26% unable to afford to buy a home. They are most likely to be renters in Britain (40%) with only one in five owning their own home (20%), and over a third (37%) preferring to live at home with their parents instead.

Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester said, "A New Year signals new hopes and dreams for prospective homebuyers. The Christmas period is traditionally slow for the housing market however this picks up again after the festive lull. The housing market continues to be buoyant, so those who are looking to buy or move house should not lose hope."

Twenty-somethings vs thirty-somethings

Those in their 30s are finding it most difficult to get on the property ladder with over a third (39%) wanting to buy but say they cannot afford to.

Those in their 20s are less likely to be homeowners of most age groups. The majority of this age group are renters (51%) with almost a quarter (23%) still choosing to live at home with their parents. This is more common among men who are twice as likely to live at home compared with women in their 20s (27% vs 19%).

Stephen Leonard said, "Living at home with parents provides many with a great opportunity to save towards a deposit on their first home. For the last three quarters our research indicates a trend towards more men in their 20s staying at home with their parents than moving out."

First time buyers

Over half of first time buyers (58%) are looking to spend under £120,000 on their first property. This is up on last quarter where under half (48%) were planning to spend up to this much.

However, with the average first time buyer home in the UK costing £144,509 they will need to house hunt carefully. If they do buy a house under the £120,000 price bracket they will not need to pay stamp duty.

Not surprisingly the youngest group (those in their 20s) are planning to spend the least on their first homes. Sixty nine per cent of the 20-29 age group expect to spend under £120,000 and more men (67%) than women (50%) hope to buy their first home under the stamp duty threshold.

Nearly half (44%) of homeowners who are looking to move to a new home expect to pay up to £100,000 more than their current property is worth. A further 13% hope to spend over £200,000 more on their next home. Only 10% are looking to downsize to a property worth less than their existing home.

Other findings reveal:

• Nearly half of all Londoners are renters (44%), the highest geographical area for renting in the UK.
• Despite living at home, only four per cent of those who choose to stay at home are financially in a position to look for their first home. Nearly one in five (17%) want to buy, but cannot afford to.
• Of all the regions, those in the North East are most likely to live at home and they are five times as likely to do so as those in the East Midlands (15% vs 3%).