Almost two million would be first time buyers have been unable to access the property market since 2001, a report has claimed.

The home ownership rate among people aged 25 to 34 years old have dropped over the last 15 years.

If the rate had remained level, it is reported that an extra 1.8 million people across the country would be living in their own homes, rather than renting or living with parents.

This is down largely to the rising house prices coupled with a focus on limiting who is lent to, so as to protect the banks and, of course, the difficulties that arise from trying to raise a deposit large enough to put down on a property.

Furthermore, the Social Market Foundations forecasts that supply of homes will continue to fall, even as demand rises. This will make prices even more unaffordable. The UK could be facing a shortfall of 1.3 million homes by 2026.

The government has introduced schemes, such as the Help to Buy Equity Loan and the Help to Buy ISA to try and help young people get onto the property ladder. The schemes give a boost to the deposit that the buyer can put down on a property.

It was hoped that the schemes would help stimulate the rate at which homes were built, and although some small progress has been made on that front, the schemes seem to mainly have just helped those who have used them. They can make a big difference to the individual, but not to the greater market as a whole.