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Around three quarters of key workers fear owning a home is out of reach

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
05/07/2022

The rising cost of living has made it harder than ever to get on the housing ladder

Nearly three quarters, 74 per cent, of key workers don’t think they will ever own their own home or get a mortgage due to increasing house prices and the rising cost of living.

According to research from mortgage lender Vida Homeloans, which surveyed around 2,000 key workers, 94 per cent said that they did not believe that they could get a mortgage right now.

Around a quarter said that it would be at least five years before they could consider applying for a mortgage, and even at that point over a third did not think it would be possible to get a mortgage to purchase property in their desired area.

One factor cited was the rising cost of living, with 22 per cent of those surveyed saying that they were struggling financially.

Vida’s research found that key workers on average had £130 of disposable income left each month.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the median household disposable income was £31,400 in the year ending 2021. This is equal to around £2,616 per month.

Nearly half of key workers said they had considered changing their career to increase their earning potential to save for a house and improve affordability for a mortgage. This rose to 59 per cent of those aged 18 to 34.

Around half of those surveyed said they were not fully aware of the options that are available to them.

Anth Mooney, chief executive at Vida said that key workers had been the “backbone of this country” for the past two and a half years and the findings were worrying.

He said that he was particularly concerned that many were considering changing jobs in order to buy a home.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything it is that we need these people, and the vital services, they perform,” Mooney added.

“It is clear that quite a few of these incredible people feel cut out of traditional mainstream lending and this is why Vida decided to launch a bespoke offering for keyworkers. I would really urge anybody who is looking to get on the housing ladder to speak to a mortgage broker who will be able to help them”.