Low Time For First Time

The number of first-time homebuyers across the UK is at a 25-year low, according to research. The average person has to spend five years saving for a deposit, says the study from Britain's biggest mortgage lender the Halifax.

It says about 320,000 people got on the property ladder last year - 10% fewer than in 2004, and down 40% on 2002. The average person now needs a deposit of almost £24,000 and is aged 33 when they buy their first home.