Graduates struggle to buy a home

Nearly two thirds of university graduates under 30 cannot afford to buy their own home, research claimed today.

Soaring house prices have led to 63 per cent of people with a degree not owning their own house, while 10 per cent say they cannot ever imagine being able to get on the property ladder.

Meanwhile, of those who left university more than six years ago, a fifth claim they despair about ever being able to buy their own home.

Overall, 14 per cent of 25- to 30-year-olds say they cannot imagine being able to afford a property, compared with six per cent among the under-25s.

Of those questioned, 19 per cent thought it would take up to 10 years before they were able to get on the property ladder. Just over a third said they wanted to pay off their student loan first.

About 14 per cent of graduates expected to get married before buying a home, while 17 per cent of those over 25 said they would not have gone to university if they had known it would prevent them from buying a property.

Murdo McHardy, senior manager of product development at Scottish Widows Bank, said: "It's a worrying prospect to think that so many graduates are so disillusioned about their prospects of owning their own home."