Over 250,000 'given up on owning a home' claims consumer group

Over 250,000 non-homeowners appear to have given up on the dream of owning their own property in the past year alone, a consumer group claims.

Back in 2013 an annual survey by the HomeOwners Alliance and BLP Insurance found that 65 per cent of non-homeowners aspired to homeownership; this number increased every year and peaked at 73 per cent in 2016.

But this year, the numbers have fallen for the first time, back to 71 per cent and the HomeOwners Alliance claims that this equates to around 253,000 people across the country who have given up on ownership in the past 12 months.

The biggest issues concerning aspiring home owners are house prices, saving for a deposit and the availability of homes.

Among aspiring first-time buyers, 86 per cent say house prices are their most serious concern, with 85 per cent citing saving for a deposit as a serious problem  and 80 per cent worried about the availability of homes.

The findings also reveal a deepening housing crisis, claims the HOA, with concerns rising in nearly all areas of the country.

While Londoners are the most concerned with house prices (87 per cent) this is also echoed in Wales (87 per cent) and the East of England (85 per cent).

“We are used to stories about people not being able to buy a home until they are 40, the story has taken a turn for the worse with people increasingly giving up altogether on the dream of homeownership” says Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance.