Britons are more fiercely committed to home ownership than ever, but fast rising prices and lack of supply have turned first-time buyers "into an endangered species". As a result, the next generation of first-time buyers could end up never being able to get out of rented accommodation - a prospect that worries well over 80% of the population, according to a YouGov poll conducted for the New Homes Marketing Board (NHMB).
"Our polls already show that most people understand that the difficulties faced by first-time buyers is turning them into an endangered species and actually amounts to a serious social problem. Now we see that the alternative - a lifetime condemned to renting - fills most people with dread" said New Homes Marketing Board Chairman David Pretty CBE.
"Even if renting is seen as a worst-case scenario for many people, there seems to be an assumption that renting will still somehow be affordable in the future. But the supply and variety of homes for rent, like homes for sale, is ultimately controlled by land availability and the planning system, and an ongoing serious shortage of supply will simply drive up rents as it has driven up prices.
"We're now looking at a situation where perhaps the lost generation of people who can't afford to buy the home they need today may not be able to afford to rent a decent home in the future either - and that's a social timebomb, particularly if those renters never have the opportunity to build up equity to supplement their future pensions" said Mr Pretty.
The latest YouGov poll conducted for the NHMB directly asked respondents how they would feel about living permanently in rented accommodation. Well over 80% of the people sampled said they would be unhappy about it, and for those under 35, the figure rose to 90%. Most respondents - almost two-thirds - declared they would be "very unhappy."
Just 8% of the population as surveyed said they would be happy renting permanently, while the remaining 9% were non-committal.
