Most people in the UK expect a housing crash, some within a couple of years

Confidence in the future of the housing market is wavering with more than half of British believing that there will be a crash within the next five years, a new survey shows.

Overall some 53% think the market is heading for a bust while 28% have faith in the housing market remaining stable, according to the poll from You Gove for property marketplace The House Shop.

In total, 66% think there will be a crash within the next decade, but many thought that a potential crash was even more imminent with 24% saying there will be a crash within two years and 6% saying it could happen in the next 12 months.

Younger people are the most pessimistic with 74% of those aged 18 to 34 believing there will be a housing crash within the next decade and 58% saying it could happen within five years.

The youngest among this group, those aged 18 to 24 years old were most convinced of the likelihood of a crash, with just 14% saying there would not be a crash in future, compared to 37% in the over 55’s age bracket.

In general, the results show that as age increases, the perceived likelihood of a crash decreases, with older generations more confident in the ability of the housing market to avoid another boom and bust cycle.

‘It was interesting to see such a high proportion of the younger generation believing that a crash within the next decade is inevitable. Young people have been the ones least benefitted by the strong growth in the housing market over the past few decades with many finding themselves priced out of home ownership altogether as they are forced into expensive rental properties with little potential to save for a deposit,’ said Nick Marr, co-founder of The House Shop.

‘I imagine that many young people are in fact hoping for a crash, so that they can snap up cheap properties during the low point of the resulting crisis and then enjoy the same appreciation of value that saw their parents accrue substantial personal wealth from property ownership,’ he pointed out.

‘While price growth is of course desirable in the housing market, we have now reached a point where a sizable number of properties in the UK are simply unaffordable for first time buyers, even for those on relatively high incomes,’ he suggested.

‘The public are clearly struggling to see how the market can continue on its current trajectory and still remain accessible to aspiring home owners. It seems highly likely that we are due for some form of market correction in the coming years to prevent prices spiralling further out of control whether that comes in the form of a steady and controlled adjustment or an all-out crash is yet to be seen,’ he concluded.