Graduates trying to get onto the property market are hindered more by falling incomes and a lack of equity than by student debt, it has been claimed.

According to the property advisory firm Savills, managing to raise enough money to put a deposit down on a house is the biggest problem facing graduates, with around 40 per cent of all first-time buyers now having to rely on financial assistance from their parents.

In addition, recent figures from the management consultants Hay revealed that, the average graduate salary has increased by just 2.5 per cent to £20,812 over the past year, a significantly slower rate of growth than experienced in the housing market.

In contrast, Lucian Cook, a researcher for Savills, stated that student debt is a relatively minor issue.

"Graduates [are] perhaps no different to anybody else on the housing market," he said.

"There is a distinct difference between those first time buyers who haven't accumulated equity, and those who have the advantage of having equity."

Currently, the average first-time buyer has to take out a mortgage of 3.3 times their annual income, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported.