Younger people who are not yet on the property ladder risk creating a future cycle in which their own children have a tougher struggle to become home owners, a report says.

The current generation of 25 to 36-year-olds, the traditional age group for first-time buyers, is split into “property haves”

and “property have-nots” who face very different prospects, research from HSBC suggests.

While younger people who have managed to get on the property ladder did so typically at 29, the “have-nots” do not expect to buy their first home before the age of 35, according to the report, based on a survey of 1,000 people in this age group as well as figures from various sources.

Researchers predict this sixyear head start for those who are already on the property ladder could have a variety of knock-on effects for people throughout their lives - including the level of financial support they are able to offer their own children when they want to buy their first home.

The report, titled First Time Buyers: The New Property Path, suggests that those who have already bought a starter home will take their next step on the property ladder and buy a family home around age 36.

If those who are not yet on the property ladder see a similar time lag, they will be about 42 by the time they are living in a family-sized home.

With the average age for a first-time mother being 28, the report said that many people will have either had their family before buying their first property, chosen to delay starting a family or decided to have fewer children.

The children of the “property haves” are likely to be in their early 30s by the time their parents have paid off the mortgage and will potentially have more of a chance of getting financial support from their parents, the report predicts.