Data from Halifax showed that first-time buyers are £670 a year better off than those who pay a landlord rent each month.

However, the firm said rising house price costs had narrowed the gap between renting and buying in recent years.

It said the average costs of buying a three bedroomed property in the UK would be 8% (£56 per month) less than renting the same home. This is a third lower than at this point a year ago.

Back in June 2009, the average cost of buying was 16% more than renting. Halifax said while house prices have risen, borrowing costs have fallen over the last six years. By contrast, rents have spiralled during the same period and are now 23% more expensive.

First-time buyers in London saw the biggest cash saving by buying. The typical buyer in the capital will save £973 each year versus renting. The South East was the only region where renting was cheaper than buying.

Craig McKinlay, mortgage director at Halifax, said these figures showed why many more people were looking to get onto the property ladder.

However, he expressed concern over the UK’s growing housing crisis.

“Looking at monthly costs, the combination of lower mortgage rates and declining rental value over the past six years has made it cheaper to buy than to rent,” he said.

“While numbers of first-time buyers getting on to the housing ladder in the first six months of both 2014 and 2015 has been over 135,000 – almost double the lows seen in 2009 – the issue of building more new homes in the right places needs to be addressed if we are to see sustainable growth.”