The volume of people living in rented accommodation continues to rise with 61% of private and social housing tenants in England not expecting to be able to ever buy a home, mainly due to affordability constraints, according to Castle Trust.
Analysis of the latest ONS English Housing Survey shows that 3m social renters and 1.5m private renters do not believe they will ever buy a home. Indeed of those that do envisage buying a property, half – around 1.5m – think it will be five years or more before they will look to buy.
Homeownership Expectations – Affordability Concerns
Sean Oldfield, chief executive officer, Castle Trust, said: “Many people are either unable to get on the property ladder or stuck in their current home despite interest rates still being at an all-time low. Schemes like the Government’s Funding for Lending are helping to boost borrowing options but the market still needs innovative lending products.”
Castle Trust’s analysis revealed that owner occupation in England has fallen by 200,000 from 14.6m in 2008 to 14.4m in 2012. Its data also indicates that there has been an increase of 23% in the number of people who are choosing to rent in the private sector, with 3.1m renters in 2008 rising to 3.8m renters in 2012.
Article courtesy of Property Investor Today“”
