First-time buyers in Plymouth are most likely to ask their parents to help pay their deposit, according to research by property investment platform British Pearl.

37% of house hunters in the Devon city have or are planning to borrow from the bank of mum and dad to get a foot on the property ladder, the study shows.

This is despite the average cost of property in the port city being £175,860, (24.38%) lower than the national average of £232,554.

The survey of the UK’s 17 major cities ranked Edinburgh as the place where buyers were least likely to ask for help, despite property prices there being 14% higher than the national average.

Just 13.6% have or are planning to approach their parents in order to stump up what they need to put down on a deposit.

London came in second, with 35% of first-time buyers asking their parents or grandparents for financial help.

Property prices in the capital are today flatlining after years of rapid growth that has caused the average price tag to surge more than 100% higher than the UK average.

In Birmingham, 31.5% said they are reliant mum and dad for help with a deposit, while 26.8% will be in Manchester, 25% in Liverpool and 23.8% in Southampton.

James Newbery, investment manager at British Pearl, said: “It is hardly surprising to see buyers turn to their parents for help with a deposit in places like London, where the huge amount of cash required is pretty hard to find.

“However, it is the Edinburgh results that are the most surprising, pointing to a population of relatively well-off inhabitants to match the city’s high property prices.

“What will have help those in the Scottish capital is the fact prices have risen at a much more gradual pace than London, climbing just 23.7% since November 2010. London has seen its average price soar by an eye-watering 70.8% in that time.

“In Plymouth the cost of property has risen at an even slower rate than Edinburgh but that is offset by significantly lower average salaries.

“As buyers become savvier, so too are landlords, investors and savers in general, as more and more turn to unified ownership to grow their nest eggs in line with the property market — instead of paltry bank savings rates. British Pearl hopes to be at the forefront of this change.”