Shocking figures just out reveal that it takes five and a half years for the average couple to save up for a deposit while it takes singleton savers ten years.

The data from the London market is even more hair-rising. There, couples are taking on average nine years to save up a deposit while single savers require 14 years, says Hamptons International.

This is despite recent help for from the Bank of England, which announced a cut in interest rates in early August. This has  been passed on by lenders  in recent weeks including to first time buyers (FTBs) and, if they shop around, rates for ‘discounted mortgage’ products can be found for under 3% while several two-year fixed rates are available at 3.5%.

Overall, August’s 0.25% cut to interest rates, if fully passed on, mean that mortgage payments could on average be £244 a year lower for the average first-time buyer home in England and Wales.

In London, the agent says, mortgage payments would be £518 lower.

But despite the long wait to gather a deposit, enthusiasm for property ownership is not waning; figures from the National Association of Estate Agents show that the number of sales to FTBs has been increasing from 25% of all sales in July this year to 28% during August. This compares favourably with the same time last year, when just 20% of sales were to FTBs.

Hamptons International also believes that the Bank of England may consider a rate cut to 0% in the near future. It predicts  that such a move would delivery significant annual savings for first time buyers of up to £1,000.

But help for first time buyers often stimulates the wider market and pushes house prices up across the board, and a Hamptons International says that “despite falling mortgage rates, continued house price growth in the last year has led to higher mortgage payments for new homeowners.

“But wage growth and lower inflation have helped to offset the impact on household incomes.”