First-time buyers, priced out of the property market, are resorting to increasingly desperate measures to get on the home-owning ladder.

New research claims young people in Brighton and Hove view property ownership as their number one goal in life above marriage, having children and getting a job.

Not put off by inflated house prices in the city, single first-time buyers on medium incomes are teaming up with friends, relatives and even complete strangers to buy their own homes.

Chris Morrow-Frost, of Bute Street, Brighton, was so desperate to own a home he bought with a complete stranger.

Chris took part in a BBC show to find a property partner and went on a number of blind dates before finding a match.

He said: "I can't say who I chose but I met them all for dinner with my best mate and my sister and they gave me their opinion.

"I'm now happily settled in the new pad with my chosen co-buyer."

Research by the Yorkshire Building Society revealed 79 per cent of people questioned in Brighton and Hove saw owning a home as an important goal.

Only 67 per cent thought getting a job was important, 33 per cent thought having children was a priority and just 21 per cent said they wanted to get married.

The building society refused to reveal how many people it questioned in the city, placing a question mark on the credibility of the survey. However, first-time buyers contacted by The Argus agreed with the bank's conclusions.

Michael Taggart, 30, bought a £159,000 two-bedroom flat in Farm Road, Hove, last year with his brother. He said: "We're both on fairly good incomes but with no deposit we struggled to get a mortgage and this was the best we could do.

"It's not even a proper foot on the property ladder because when we sell we may find we have little or no equity to buy separately. But at the end of the day instead of pouring money away on rent I'm paying off a mortgage which could pay dividends eventually.

"Shared ownership seems to be increasingly popular because single professional people, even on good incomes, have no chance of buying their own home."

Paul Bonett, chairman of the Brighton and Hove Estate Agents' Association, said: "People are very keen to get on the ladder because property is always seen as a good investment over time but there is no doubt that young people are priced out.

"A few years ago our typical first-time buyer was aged 20 to 25, now it's more like 30 to 45. Young people on their own are giving up the hope of property ownership because they will be saddled with a huge financial burden which does not give them freedom to move around.