If we look back through time, we see that housing policy in the UK has evolved in a tactical and piecemeal way. And while the mortgage market has been so busy – particularly over the past decade-and-a-half – reacting to shock after shock, there hasn’t been much time and grace to step back and make sure it’s functioning as it needs to for the long term.

We’ve come through the global financial crisis and pandemic in reasonably good shape, and are now batting off economic volatility triggered by a disastrous 2022 mini budget, a European War and surging inflation, encouragingly so far. However, there’s no denying these events have combined to create a historically challenging set of circumstances for borrowers – and renters.

The greater lender prudence necessary following the credit crunch, a return to more typical, higher interest rates and the highest house prices ever – exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis – have made it harder than ever for borrowers to save up a home deposit and prove their creditworthiness and capability to afford the repayments.

So it’s no wonder almost four-fifths (78%) of UK first-time buyers and seven in ten (73%) remortgagers told us they think homeownership is becoming an elite privilege and the UK is in danger of becoming a nation of renters within five years.

They were responding to Yorkshire Building Society research which asked 500 first-time buyers, 500 remortgagers and 500 landlords what they really think of the state Britain’s mortgage and housing markets.

Worryingly, while respondents identified a growing reliance on renting, almost three-fifths (58%) of landlords feel pushed out of the rental sector by increasingly penal taxation and other regulations. Three-fifths (61%) also stated the rental sector is becoming less attractive as an investment proposition. This is particularly concerning, given the critically short supply of private rented housing and the fact our findings also show those landlords serve couples with dependent children (34%), single parent households (18%), the low paid (9%) and those with disabilities (4%).

Not all doom and gloom

The great news is the unique British love affair with homeownership lives on, and two-fifths (37%) of first-time buyers aspire – and are budgeting – to buy their own places within a year.

Even better, people are showing real financial responsibility, making adjustments to get themselves house-buying-ready. After a decade-and-a-half of unusually cheap credit encouraged, , nine out of 10 (86%) people are making responsible lifestyle choices to prioritise the biggest investment they are ever likely to make. Of these, over half (55%) were prepared to forego holidays and half (49%) eat out less. Almost all first-time buyers surveyed (94%) were saving towards a deposit.

However, with a perfect storm of factors making buying a home in the UK harder than it has been for over a century, something needs to be done, and it needs to be big.

An increasingly significant minority of borrowers don’t fit the ‘vanilla’ mould, as a result of changing societal dynamics. Lenders like Accord are doing their bit to provide outside-the-box solutions for people like the growing number of self-employed and contractors and families wanting to collaborate to get a relative onto the housing ladder. However, this is a job for more than lenders alone.

Not least because our research suggests the availability of suitable property is not where it should be, either – in fact, one-in-five (17%) first-time buyers believe there isn’t enough variety to meet the population’s evolving housing needs.

Perhaps because of the run of significant economic events over recent years – in addition to environmental challenges meeting net zero targets – there has not, been a truly strategic and joined-up UK Housing Plan. As a result, topics such as suitable properties for older downsizers, , scope for expanding or intergenerational families, regeneration of ‘brownfield’ site, retro-fitting older properties and changing expectations the next generation have not been tackled.

So, what’s the ask?

As a mutual, which grew out of the need to improve housing equality in the 19th century, we feel we’ve come full circle. We remain absolutely committed to helping borrowers find a silver lining in these challenging times by lending purposefully and with common sense, through Accord

If we – and the industry – needed a burning platform, these research discoveries should be it. We’re determined the progress we’ve made over the past century-and-a-half shouldn’t be

lost and are doing our bit to innovate, through offerings like our £2000 cashback options to help first-time buyers and others with their upfront costs, and our cascade score 95% range, which give people access to mortgages at higher LTVs who might usually be turned down.

However, our research highlights some serious flaws in the mortgage and housing markets, centred on two core problems – the lack of suitable stock to rent or buy, and the fact that what there is, is becoming unaffordable by many. The mortgage and housing market infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with changes in society and lifestyles and, as a result, we risk sleepwalking back into a divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’. The size of this challenge means a collective effort is needed, by lenders and other industry stakeholders including government, trade bodies and charities, to ensure they meet the needs of current and future generations.

As a starter-for-10, we are proposing a targeted replacement for the now-defunct Help to Buy Scheme – available across all types of property and designed to help groups of first-time buyers who need it most. We also need a modern housing plan for Britain fit for future generations – creating a long-term blueprint for appropriate homes which transcends party politics and looks far beyond the next five years.

Jeremy Duncombe is director of mortgage distribution for Yorkshire Building Society and managing director of Accord Mortgages