The average delay in buying a first home was six months and three weeks.
Censuswide surveyed 2,000 people who plan to buy a property in the next year on behalf of estate agency Yopa.
Some 70 per cent of would-be first-time buyers have been furloughed at some point, and one in six has lost a job.
The main obstacles for first-time buyers remained the size of the deposit, the small number of available products and tough criteria on high loan-to-value (LTV) products.
Some 85 per cent of this group aim to use a government scheme, with 20 per cent looking to the government guaranteed high-LTV mortgages.
First-time buyers continued to want access to city centres, with 13 per cent indicating that commuter links were less important now compared to before the pandemic.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent rated fast broadband and outside space as very important.
Some 30 per cent were delaying until the stamp duty holiday ends, with the implication they are hoping for a drop in prices.
Meanwhile 22 per cent said the tax holiday had no impact on their plans.
Neil Weston (pictured), principal at Scout Financial Services, Yopa’s broker partner firm, said: “Alarmingly, 77 per cent of first-time buyers with household incomes exceeding £75,000 said they were priced out of the area they initially hoped to buy in.
“However, we expect prices to rise further, rather than falling, after the stamp duty holiday ends. First-time buyers hoping to get on the ladder in 2021 should get their ducks in a row now, to avoid being priced-out later this year,” he said.
