Younger generations still see home ownership as ‘essential’
There is still a desire to get on the property ladder among young people despite barriers, says LRG’s Tim Foreman.
Younger people haven’t given up hope of owning a home, research suggests.
Analysis by estate agency brand LRG shows that despite high costs and deposit barriers, younger movers are the firmest believers in owning a home, with 84% of under-45s calling it essential against 70% of over-65s.
Anyone ready to buy now shouldn’t feel they have to wait.”
Across all ages, the figure was 75%.
Given the choice of what to buy first if they were starting out today, 82% of all respondents picked a home to live in and only 6% a property to rent out. More than half – at 55% – said they’d put saving a deposit first even if it meant going without, against 24% who’d balance saving with enjoying life now.
Wish to buy
Mark Manning, Managing Director of Northern Estate Agency Group, part of LRG, says: “I hear it said a lot that younger people have stopped caring about owning, but that isn’t who comes through our doors. Across Manning Stainton, Ryder & Dutton and Mortimers, we meet people in their twenties, thirties and forties who know exactly what they want and have usually been working towards it for years.
“My advice to anyone under 45 who thinks owning is out of reach is to get the numbers done properly before deciding that.
“Find out what you can borrow, what the deposit really needs to be and what the whole move will cost. Sometimes it’s closer than people assume.”
It comes as further details of the Government’s new Your First Home scheme are due to be revealed in the Budget later this month.
Tim Foreman (pictured), Managing Director of Land and New Homes at LRG, adds: “For most first-time buyers, the deposit is the hurdle, not the wish to buy, so help with it is welcome.
“Help to Buy took a few months to bed in before people understood it, and this may be the same. Anyone ready to buy now shouldn’t feel they have to wait. Look at the detail after the Budget, work out what the loan would cost you and see whether it suits.
