Indeed, just purchased a house in the UK in a relatively cheap area (rural Scotland) and it works out to about 1300 sq ft of house, excluding garden. Given the current market a first time buyer would be expected to put in around $60K deposit as mortgages have dried up for higher LTVs.

In other words, an 18 year old would have to save $5K a year for 12 years simply to have the deposit.

The national average for house prices is not too different from this scenario.