The Bank of Mum and Dad lent or gave away a total of £9bn in 2022, says Savills.

It says this is a rise of almost £4bn since 2019.

The report adds that 170,000 first-time buyers (FTBs) – 46% of all FTBs in 2022 – drew help from family, which is down on the 198,000 counted in 2021.

Savills expects this proportion to rise to 61% in 2023, however, pointing out that if this does occur, only two in five FTBs will be buying their first home solo.

Both higher mortgage rates and the end of the Help to Buy scheme are described as being factors for this.

While the proportion of FTBs receiving help from the Bank of Mum and Dad is expected to go up, the total amount of FTBs will likely fall to 200,000 in 2023, says Savills.

And the total amount of money provided by parents is forecast to drop too – ‘but is still expected to total £26bn over the next three years (2023 to 2025)’, the report says.

Savills director of residential research Frances McDonald comments: “Since the Help to Buy scheme was introduced in 2013 it has supported more than 335,000 FTBs – providing £2.2bn of financial assistance in 2022 alone (bringing the total support received by first-time buyers to more than £11bn).

“With no obvious scheme expected to replace the support provided, a far greater proportion of buyers will be relying on family members to help them to take their first step onto the property ladder.”