Research from estate agencies Your Move and Reeds Rains said young buyers were being forced to make significant sacrifices when buying a home.

Some 51% said natural light wasn’t vital in a first home while 63% would go for a property without a bath. Additionally 93% said they would be happy without an ensuite bathroom.

However, more than half of respondents (54%) said a garden was mandatory while 55% saw a car parking space as a deal breaker.

The research said the average first-time buyer house price had jumped to £143,767.

First-time buyers said they were frustrated by the lack of supply in the market, with four-in-ten (41%) wanting legislation to prevent builders from land banking. Over a third of people (37%) said it should be easier to change other types of buildings into residential use.

Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “First-time buyers are willing to sacrifice space and comfort in their quest to buy a first home. But this shouldn’t be such an arduous task – these findings should send a warning flare out to our politicians that many first-timers are tripping up along the path to homeownership, despite much improved access to finance.

“There is only a finite stock of housing on the market, and unfortunately, first-time buyers are the least prepared in the current scramble for property.

“The lion’s share of new housing policy has been stoking demand, rather than supplementing supply, with the Help to Buy ISA the latest in a host of flagship first-timer policies. But building initiatives remain largely untouched, leaving enormous potential to revise and improve housing policy.”