A study of over 4,000 adults reveals that 60% of people planning to buy their first house within the next five years have delayed their plans by an average of 18 months.
The research, carried out by Leeds Building Society as part of its report ‘Tackling the UK’s Homeownership Crisis’, breaks this down as 21% saying this is because of rising living costs, 19% because of higher mortgage rates, and 20% because of falling house prices.
Meanwhile, nearly half – 49% – of people who want to buy a home believe “they now might never be able to buy a property”.
And of those currently buying their first home, 20% of survey respondents said they had already had a mortgage offer withdrawn and can’t get another.
The building society’s report puts forward seven proposals to get more people into homes:
- To build more homes
- To tackle the skills gap in construction
- To maximise the potential in existing properties
- To build sustainability into the housing market
- To increase routes to home ownership
- To help people save a deposit
- To provide meaningful support for borrowers
Its report states that, while challenging, solving this problem is “not impossible” and will take strong political leadership.
The lender believes that more attention needs to be given to Shared Ownership, which currently makes up 1% of housing in the UK.
Leeds Building Society chief executive Richard Fearon comments: ““The findings from our research are stark but clear: the home ownership dream in the UK is in crisis. Houses have never been less affordable, and the cost-of-living crisis and the recent increases in interest rates are a further blow to those hoping to buy.
“In the short term, a stronger case needs to be made for Shared Ownership to help more people get the keys to their first home. The key advantage of Shared Ownership is that buyers need a smaller deposit, potentially allowing them to buy sooner than they might otherwise. There is a clear lack of awareness about the benefits of Shared Ownership and lenders, brokers and estate agents all have a role to play in changing that.
“However, delivering meaningful change to the housing market requires a number of more structural issues, including building more homes. That’s why we’ve published our ‘Housing Roadmap’ of seven changes that need to happen so create a housing market that functions for everyone.”
