Financial support from family members is expected to help fund 318,400 housing transactions in 2023, more than in any year since L&G began tracking family lending in 2016.

The average amount provided by Family Bank is expected to reach £25,600 this year.

Bernie Hickman, chief executive of Legal & General Retail, said: "Family wealth is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for home ownership, effectively locking some groups out of the housing market for years whilst they save for a deposit, or even out of the housing market altogether.

Whilst family gifts have always played an important role in the UK housing market, our research shows that the value of these gifts has risen by more than a quarter from pre-pandemic levels.

Increasing reliance on family members is not only an issue for homebuyers, it is important to recognise the financial pressures this can place on gifters, especially if they make such commitments without financial advice.

"By tapping into savings and pensions, family members may be impacting on their own retirement income. A housing system that relies too heavily on gifted savings not only perpetuates today's inequalities, it could also create risks for older generations in the future."

The majority of recent or future HomeBank grantees said they would have to put off buying a home without financial help from a loved one.

More than one in five (21%) said they would have had to delay homeownership for more than five years without help from Family Bank, and one in ten first-time buyers would not have been able to purchase a home.

Family Bank support is highly regional, with more than two thirds (67 per cent) of London homeowners receiving support from their parents when buying a home. Recipients in London received an average of £30,200 of support to buy a home, second only to recipients in the East of England who received an average of £32,100.

However, in other regions, aspiring homebuyers are less reliant on the Family Bank. In the East Midlands and West Midlands, people received the least amount of money on average from friends and family, at £20,000 and £19,800 respectively.

Hickman added: "Our latest Family Bank research shows that high housing costs, particularly in London and other major cities, continue to affect the UK. There is a stark disparity between urban and rural areas, and the lack of affordable housing in some areas will affect many people's lives for years to come.

As an organisation, we are committed to improving the UK's housing market and ensuring that as many people as possible have a fair chance to take control of their future.

This includes investing £32bn in Britain's towns and cities and committing to a 20 per cent increase in affordable housing in the UK. We will also invest heavily in innovative new routes to home ownership, as our support for Generation Home demonstrates.

"The gift of a deposit is a very kind and generous thing for those who can afford it, but it should not be a necessary part of the home buying process."