Almost a fifth of people under the age of 50 do not think they will ever save enough for a house deposit, research from a housing developer has revealed.
According to a poll of 1,000 people by Latimer, 16.3% worry they will never raise a deposit. This rises to 23.4% among those aged between 35 and 44.
Some 38% of respondents said they planned to buy a home in the next year. Of these, 36% were already homeowners.
Among the non-homeowners, a tenth said they would be able to raise a mortgage deposit in the next 12 months.
Majority of homeowners over 55 years old
Latimer said based on figures from the Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities published in December 2022 which suggested 56% of homeowners are aged 55 or over, the under 50s were being “locked out of homeownership”.
The firm said shared ownership could be an alternative option to getting onto the property ladder.
Richard Cook, group development director at Latimer, said: “There’s no question that the current economic landscape is challenging and has compounded the difficulties already posed by the UK’s long-standing housing crisis. For far too many people, homeownership is a distant dream.
“We believe it’s important to address this and that shared ownership has a major role to play in doing so. That’s why we use it to offer affordable homes at many of our schemes across the country.”
Putting homeownership within reach
Andrew Greenwood, deputy chief executive at Leeds Building Society, added: “We passionately believe that every generation deserves a place to call home and our purpose at Leeds Building Society is to put homeownership within reach of more people generation after generation.
“The cost of housing is at its most expensive point since around the time we were founded 150 years ago and the average deposit for a first-time buyer as a share of wages has more than quadrupled.
“That’s why we welcome the spotlight Latimer is putting on shared ownership. The ability it provides to secure a home with a much smaller deposit is particularly helpful for people looking to buy on their own. It can also help people buy at an earlier age and potentially grow their equity sooner by benefitting from any rise in the value of their home.”
