Six million give up on ever owning a property
Friday, 20 May 2011 12:09 PM
Over six million Brits have given up on the idea of ever buying their own home.
A survey by the price comparison website MoneySupermarket.com found that the average would-be buyer does not expect to own a home until they are 38 years old and only five per cent of hopefuls currently have enough money saved for a deposit.
However, 6.2 million people (13 per cent of adults) do not plan to buy at all.
A substantial 19 per cent of those hoping to get on the property ladder plan to rent until they have saved enough for a deposit, while six per cent hope that house prices will fall further.
The proportion of people stuck renting is highest in the West Midlands, where a quarter of hopefuls are waiting until they can afford to buy.
Londoners are the least confident about being able to afford to own. Because of high house prices in the capital, the average would-be buyer expects to have to wait until they are 43.
MoneySupermarket says the number of mortgage products available to first-time buyers rose slightly to 1,581 in May, but that’s still only a fraction of the 14,940 that were available before the credit crunch.
While there has been a 47 per cent increase in products requiring a ten per cent deposit, the average loan to value is still 77 per cent, which means someone buying a £150,000 home would need a deposit of £34,500.
Want to be the first to know when we break a story? Follow @AboutProperty on Twitter and subscribe to our free weekly newsletter.
