First-time buyers now spend an average of £163,047 on rent before purchasing a home – 40 per cent more than a decade ago, fresh research reveals.

Soaring rents mean prospective buyers must shell out some £46,621 more before buying their home compared to 2015, according to specialist mortgage lender Perenna.

A decade ago, the total spent was just £116,427.

The amount doled out by first-time buyers to landlords today is enough to put down a 60 per cent deposit on the average home. 

House prices climbed to £270,000 in July, according to Office for National Statistics data published today.

A pot of £27,000 is needed for a 10 per cent deposit on this average property but the climbing price of rent and the elevated cost of living are stifling many buyers' ability to save enough. Costly' 

Mortgage affordability rules mean some can't get their foot on the ladder even if they do have savings, for example because they are buying alone and are restricted to borrowing 4.5 times their salary. 

However, some lenders are now loosening these rules in response to regulatory changes announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.  

First-time buyers have now rented for 12.8 years on average, compared to 11.4 years a decade ago, assuming they begin to rent at age 21, Perenna says.

Colin Bell, founder of Perenna, says: 'There is a time and a place for renting. While some may make the personal choice to rent in the long term, others are forced into a seemingly never-ending cycle of rising costs. 

'The current infrastructure of the property market means we're encouraging our young people to get trapped into long-term renting over purchasing a home.

'Renting is ultimately money spent without return. Unlike mortgage payments, which build equity, rent offers no stake in the property and often doesn't even strengthen someone's credit profile - despite renters frequently paying more each month than they would with a mortgage.

'With house prices increasing overall, they could have spent their hard-earned money on an appreciating asset, but the market is failing to provide the right financial mechanisms to help lift buyers onto the ladder.'

There's little respite for renters as monthly rents soared by 5.7 per cent in the year to August, official figures today revealed.

A rented property now costs £1,348 a month on average, though this may be split between multiple tenants. 

Wales saw the biggest hike in payments at 7.8 per cent to £811, while England has the highest average of £1,403. In Scotland payments climbed 3.5 per cent to £1,002.

London is the region with the highest rent at £2,253 on average while the lowest is £745 in the North East.

Ben Twomey, chief executive at tenant campaign group Generation Rent, said: 

'Homes are the foundations of our lives, but rents continue to rise faster than our wages, swallowing more and more of our income. 

'We rightly have caps on our energy and water bills, but the same protections don't exist to stop landlords from pricing us out of our homes. The Government can and must act through devolving powers to Mayors to limit rent increases in their areas.'

Bell says more low-deposit solutions are needed to get young people onto the property ladder.

There are several mortgage lenders offering loans with deposits of less than 5 per cent, for example Newcastle Building Society which launched a 2 per cent deposit deal last week. 

However, these often come with higher interest rates, as well as restrictions on who can apply.