Rishi Sunak has admitted that homeownership has become more difficult under a Conservative government.

“It has got harder, and I want to make sure that it gets easier,” said the Prime Minister in an interview on BBC Panorama last night.

The Conservative leader added that his government would continue to “build homes in the right places and we will do that in a way that is sensitive to local communities,” if his party wins the 4 July election.

He also pointed out that saving for “a deposit is the biggest challenge” for young people who want to buy their own homes.

The Conservative Party, which has been in power for 14 years, is expected to pledge to keep the stamp duty threshold for first-time buyers at £425,000 in its manifesto due to be published today.

The nil-rate threshold for FTBs was lifted from £300,000 during former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ 2022 mini-Budget — but the rate is set to return to its former rate at the end of March next year.

Labour vowed to get more young people on the housing ladder when it announced its freedom to buy scheme last week.

The move will see lenders offer mortgages with a 5% deposit, with the government acting as guarantor for part of a home loan, if Labour wins power.

Last year, the UK added 234,400 dwellings, unchanged compared to the previous 12 months, according to Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities data in November.

This is below the 2019 Conservative manifesto target of adding 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s.

But when the next set of annual figures are released, it is expected to be able to boast one million homes built over the course of this parliament – the current figure is 935,204.

By contrast, Labour has promised to build 1.5 million homes over five years if the party is returned to government, through a combination of looser planning rules and green belt construction.