1st-time buyers on property ladder 2 years earlier with Help to Buy

First-time buyers are getting on the property ladder two years earlier than they anticipated, thanks to Help to Buy.

Home move comparison site Compare My Move has revealed that the average millennial renter - those aged from 18 to 34 - can save for the 5 percent deposit needed to access a Help to Buy equity loan in 12 months.

It would take three years for the average renter to save enough for a 15 percent deposit that many mortgage lenders will demand.

Getting on the housing ladder more quickly will then save first-time buyers an average £10,000 in rent.

Compare My Move looked at how long it takes young renters in 50 UK towns and cities to save a deposit to by their first home.

Their research revealed that in 14 of the biggest towns and cities, renters can save enough for a 5 percent deposit in less than a year. But the yawning gap between house prices in the north and south is reflected in how long many renters will need to save before they can become a homeowner.

Renters in the Lancashire town of Burnley can fund their deposit in just seven months, but those in the university city of Oxford will take more than five years to fund a 5 percent deposit and an unreasonably long 17 years for a 15 percent deposit.

London renters can shave off seven years of saving when they access Help to Buy - it takes the average London-based millennial three years and seven months to save a 5 percent deposit.

Meanwhile, the research shows that the average first-time buyer in Britain pays £15,000 in rent when saving for a 15 percent deposit and £5,000 when saving for a 5 percent deposit.