Notwithstanding the difficult economic climate, more people than ever aspire to being homeowners in the long term, according to a new consumer opinion survey undertaken by YouGov for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
Home ownership was cited by 85% of people as the tenure they hoped to be living in a decade from now. The CML has asked the same questions about home-ownership aspirations periodically since 1975. Last time the survey was undertaken, in 2007, the proportion expecting to be homeowners in ten years' time was 84%.
The desire for home ownership has dipped a little over the short term. 76% of those surveyed saw home ownership as their ideal tenure in two years' time – down from 78% when the survey was undertaken in 2007. This primarily reflects a much smaller short-term appetite (42%) for home ownership among adults aged 18 to 24 – although this is also the age group with the highest ten-year home-ownership aspirations (88%).
It is highly likely, says the CML, that this reflects younger people's lifestyle choices, favouring more flexibility and mobility in the short term, as well as a realistic assessment of the difficulty of entering the housing market under current affordability conditions.
CML director general Michael Coogan says, "It is crystal clear that most people see home ownership as their tenure of choice over the long term. But the unintended consequence of regulatory change is that it is going to be permanently tougher for people – especially young people – to fulfil that aspiration in the future, even if they are responsible with their finances.
"Home-ownership levels are already falling, and they will continue to fall. Is that the outcome that policymakers want? It is certainly not what consumers want, but it's what they're likely to end up with.
We urge politicians and regulators to pause and think again about the cumulative effects of their well-intentioned but poorly targeted package of regulatory changes."
The Autumn 2010 issue of Re:locate includes an update on the UK residential property market. The Winter 2010/11 issue will contain further in-depth analysis of this key sector for relocation, with the latest on the furniture rental sector.
