New research suggests that many young people in Britain are pessimistic about their likelihood of ever owning their own home.
According to a survey from the Building Societies Association (BSA), the prospect of homeownership remains a key aspiration among the younger generation with almost half (48%) of those aged between 25 and 34 claiming they want to own their own home within the next decade.
However, the challenge of climbing on to the property ladder has not gone unnoticed. In fact, 70% consider it to be a major issue, and 41% think the achievement of ever owning their own home is unlikely.
The survey also revealed there to be a substantial fall in the number of people in this demographic that own their own home; whilst the proportion stood at 40% in 2008, ten years on, it’s at 33%.
A factor which has had the most weight on people’s ability to afford a home is price, with 76% of those aged between 25 and 34 claiming that raising a struggle was their main barrier where homeownership was concerned.
The next biggest hurdle was access to a mortgage, with 46% citing it as an issue. Just behind this was affordability of mortgage payments at 43%, followed by doubts about job security at 29%. 15% expressed worries about the price of stamp duty, whilst 12% were concerned about being able to locate the right property. Just over one in ten said the complexity of the home buying process was an issue for them.
Commenting on the survey was Paul Broadhead. The head of mortgage and housing policy at the BSA said: It is stark and worrying how gloomy many young people are about their chances of future home ownership. With the average age of a first time buyer standing at 33, this is the very group most likely to be considering buying. If they are right and their chances in 10 years are still bad the societal divide and economic impact already being felt can only grow,’ said Paul Broadhead, head of mortgage and housing policy at the BSA.
‘Without a massive push to build more homes to overcome the deficit of decades it is hard to see that things will improve. Mortgage lenders also have a part to play to break down the barriers. As part of this, the BSA has just commissioned a project to explore the potential for intergenerational lending, unlocking some of the housing wealth of the baby boomers.’
