Home ownership remains the ultimate goal for young adults aged 20 to 24 with 100% aspiring to buy their own property with price more important than location, according to a new analysis.
But this falls to 59% for 25 to 34 year olds and 63% for those aged 35 to 44, according to the new report, Home Ownership Attitudes and Aspirations from legal firm Collyer Bristow.
It is based on the hopes of a panel of 20 to 44 year old men and women in London and the South East living in rented accommodation and in their own homes and will be repeated annually.
Overall, some 73% of men and 57% of women hope to buy their own home within the next five years but 29% say that home ownership in the same timeframe is unrealistic, with just 9% saying they have no aspiration to buy a home at all.
‘We all know that there is a housing crisis in the UK and that it is particularly acute in London and the South East. We have seen developers bring forward new tenures, such as dedicated Build to Rent schemes, but home ownership remains the ultimate goal,’ said Alex O’Connor, partner in commercial real estate.
‘It is interesting that all of our panel’s 20-24 year olds say that they will own their own home, only for those hopes to be dashed when the reality of buying a property hits home. That picks up slightly, perhaps as our panel start to marry and think about starting a family,’ he added.
The research also asked both home owners and those wanting to buy a home how they funded or intend to fund the deposit on their home and found that 63% of those who have already bought cited personal and joint savings while 62% of those who intend to purchase did so.
Some 32% got help from the Bank of Mum and Dad and 23% used the Government’s Help to Buy schemes. Prices was important for 77%, more than location at 61% while the study also found that 31% used inherited property or cash and a further 21% expected to inherit.
Although few actually use alternative options, the research did find support from options like shared living. Some 74% said they would consider them at some point in the future, attracted by a fixed monthly fee for a room in a central location.
‘The home market is changing rapidly with new tenures emerging and institutional money looking to change the rental market for the better. Whilst our panel might choose to rent for longer, home ownership remains the ultimate goal. The housing crisis is not going to disappear any time soon,’ O’Connor concluded.
