A quarter of UK youngsters are 'certain' they will never own a home as property prices continue to rise across the country.
New research into ‘Generation Rent’ by Halifax revealed more evidence of the affordability problems facing aspiring homeowners, with one in four 18 to 34-year-olds thinking the only way they will manage to buy a house is by inheriting cash.
More than half of those surveyed feel the average house price for a first home in their area is currently unrealistic for them, and one in 10 are even prepared to consider moving out of the UK in order to buy their own home.
With 80 per cent saying lack of affordable property is keeping home ownership out of reach, one in 10 (14 per cent) think they’ll need to rent forever – even though it would leave them £651 a year worse off than the average first-time buyer.
More than one in five (22 per cent) now feel that home ownership is a thing of the past – despite the fact that the number of first-time buyers reached a 10-year high of 339,000 in 2016.
Deposits remain too unrealistic and expensive for more than half (52 per cent) of young people, with the average first-time buyer home needing a deposit of £32,3212 - a figure that soars to £100,445 in London.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “Even with the highest number of first-time buyers in the last decade in 2016, many young people still feel they are running financial gauntlet - saving for a deposit, finding an affordable property in the right area and managing to fund living in the meantime.
“It is never too early to do some research to help build a better understanding of how much is affordable, the borrowing options available and calculating what’s achievable to help make owning a property more of a reality.”
Michelle Lawson, director at Portsmouth-based Lawson Financial, said: “There are products around that people may not know about where deposits may not need to be found. This is where the broker comes in.
“There is a family mortgage with a second charge against the parents’ property, guarantee schemes and other products that may help them on the housing ladder – but they won’t need the full deposit.
“It is getting the word out there to speak to a broker to assess the situation. Lenders are great at promoting deals to us: we know what there is, but the problem is if it is not on TV and social media.
“It also comes back down to the need for financial education in schools.”
simon.allin@ft.com
