This is the equivalent of around 1.5m people - and the figure rose to more than 8% amongst 25-34 year olds, amounting to almost 600,000 people.
Andy Forbes, head of retail products at first direct, said: "It's worrying that such a large number of people regretted not buying a home in 2012.
“Buying a home is understandably a daunting prospect especially in these financially uncertain times.”
Despite a 1% increase in property sales in England and Wales last year, only 640,000 properties were sold which is only half the number of homes sold when the market was at its peak in 2006.
