Up to two-thirds of first-time buyers are reining in their spending in a bid to save money and get on the property ladder, a survey has shown.

Research for housing association Notting Hill Home Ownership (NHHO) found up to 60% of first-time buyers are buying less clothes, 53% are cutting back on shopping bills and six in ten had opted not to go on holiday because they were struggling to save for a deposit.

More than half of those surveyed - 59% - said they thought that by changing their spending habits they would be able to afford a deposit for a property within the next two to three years. But 22% thought that even with saving, they would still be unable to afford a home by 2012.

The findings come after it was revealed that the average price of a property in the UK is now more than £230,000, with prices across the country rising by up to 10% within the last year.

The survey added that concerns over available funding have caused 52% of people to consider buying a home with someone else.

One in five of those questioned said they were currently in the process of buying a shared home, or were looking further into how to do so.

Mark Vaughan, director of marketing at NHHO, said: "When the borrowing capacity of the UK's home-seeking public is set against the average national house price, the financial shortfall is alarming, and proves that optimism within the first-time buyer market does not connect with the reality.

"Even if house prices do continue to level off as they are today, the chasm between average savings and house prices shows no immediate signs of being bridged.

"This means that for the majority of UK home seekers full property ownership is becoming an increasingly unattainable goal, regardless of the lifestyle concessions they are willing to undertake."

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