Homeowners have also sold valuable items and borrowed money from family members in order to buy their first home.
Some 14% of homeowners have had to work in two jobs at the same time in order to get onto the housing ladder, property business Engen Group has found.
To be able to buy their first home, 16% have borrowed money from family members and 7% have sold valuable items. Meanwhile, 306,000 said they had stayed in a relationship for the sole purpose of being able to buy a property.
Graeme Boiardini, chief executive of Engen Group, said: “Getting a first step on the property ladder is a dream for many, but our research shows the sacrifices people have to make to achieve this.
“Also, once they are on it, many clearly continue to make sacrifices to pay for their housing costs.“As the population increases, the need for affordable and sustainable housing has never been greater.”
Overall, for those people not living in a family member’s home, 57% claimed to make sacrifices to help pay for their housing costs.
Four out of 10 (43%) said they go out less because of this, but 4% said they have also cut back on buying medicine and medical treatment.
