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Most Tenants Think They’ll Never Get onto the Property Ladder
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Most tenants in the UK believe that they’ll never get a foot onto the property ladder, due to the high cost of saving for a deposit, according to a survey of 2,000 renters, commissioned by Intus Lettings.
56% of respondents said that they choose to rent their home because they can’t afford the initial lump sum of purchasing a property, which is up by 4% on last year.
This comes despite predictions that UK rent prices are expected to climb by 15% over the next five years, with house prices seeing the largest November drop since 2012 this year.
The research reveals that the issue of affordability is far more prevalent in over-25s, with some respondents even stating that the only way that they’d be able to buy a home is by winning the lottery.
While 57% of 18-24-year-olds have a more optimistic outlook on homeownership, those over the age of 25 continue to rent because of financial concerns, with 25-34-year-olds (63%), 35-44-year-olds (64%) and 45-54-year-olds (60%) all saying that they don’t have the money for a deposit. These figures are all up year-on-year.
The Lettings Manager at Intus Lettings, Hope McKendrick, says: “Despite wages rising at the fastest pace in nearly a decade and falling house prices, the difficulty of moving from rented accommodation to owning a property continues to be widespread.
“The problem offinding a deposit is a common theme across the regions. However, more people in Northern Ireland (69%), the South East (64%), South West (61%) and Wales (60%) have admitted they rent because they can’t afford to buy.”
When asked what the biggest factor was when looking for a property, 41% of tenants rated affordability as the biggest influence, with location (25%) and transport links (8%) ranking much lower.
McKendrick adds: “What the research does show is there is greater confidence amongst under-25s when it comes to owning a property in the future, compared to their older counterparts, with 75% of 18-24-year-olds saying they would save their own money to buy a property.”
This is up by 6% on last year’s survey results, with fewer tenants choosing to rent because it suits their lifestyle, which is down by 8%.
