Deposit still the biggest barrier to home ownership, finds Home Group

homes for saleNew research commissioned by Home Group has revealed that saving for a deposit is still the biggest barrier to home ownership.

The research, carried out by YouGov, represented 1667 adults from across the UK and explored the various barriers and attitudes to home ownership.

The polling found that, of all respondents who didn’t currently own their own home, 61% aspired to become homeowners. This increased to 88% in the 18-24 age bracket.

In Scotland alone, 51% of people surveyed who do not currently own their own home outright aspire to do so, however, 64% of those who aspire to own outright don’t feel confident that they will be able to do so within the next five years.

Further headlines include:

  • 62% of all respondents were not confident that owning their own home could become a reality in the next five years.
  • 58% of all respondents felt that it was particularly hard to buy a home in their local area – rising to 83% in London
  • 51% felt that raising a deposit was the biggest barrier to home ownership
  • In fact, 63% of respondents said that they would struggle to raise £5000 in one year, and over half of these said they would struggle to raise just £1000 in one year.
  • 48% of respondents also felt that social tenants do not have the same opportunities as others to buy their own homes, and of these, 67% felt that it was unfair that social housing tenants were not afforded the same opportunities to become homeowners.
  • Home Group said the findings show that it could take decades for a significant proportion of respondents to raise the £33,000 needed for the average first time buyer deposit.

    Mark Henderson, chief executive at Home Group, said: “We already know that 87% of our customers aspire to own their own homes, so, as a housing provider, we need to respond to these results to enable our customers to achieve their aspirations.

    “Our role as an organisation goes beyond building the homes that Britain needs. We also have a responsibility to enable independence and support aspirations, which is precisely why we continually look at new and innovative ways in which to do this.

    “Not only does this provide new opportunities for our customers, it also frees up much needed funds for Home Group as an organisation to invest in building more homes and providing more services for the people who need them the most.

    ”With this in mind we provide a range of home ownership options for our current and prospective customers – from outright sales and shared ownership to innovative and accessible new products that allow people to take their first step onto the property ladder.”

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