Almost half of all homeowners are trapped on the first rung of the property ladder say figures released by Abbey, unable to advance because of prohibitive costs.

Stepping onto the "second rung" of the property ladder after you have sold your first home increases mortgage costs by an average £135 per month, recent research revealed.

But 49 per cent say that they cannot afford to pay this much more, while a further seven per cent say that they cannot afford the associated costs of moving, such as stamp duty.

In an attempt to create more space without moving more and more homeowners are extending their homes, which could create even more long-term problems said Abbey.

"Almost half of the UK population own their home with a mortgage, and a further 23 per cent own their home outright," said Paula Ickinger of Abbey mortgages.

"If these homeowners do decide to stay put and extend this could create a bottleneck in the housing market for both new and existing property owners.

"Wage increases have not kept pace and therefore this has had a significant impact on existing homeowners' ability to move up to a bigger property."

One way to ease the problem – if not actually resolve it – is to compare mortgage rate deals to ensure you are paying the lowest rates, say advisers.

© Adfero Ltd