Two in five renters fear they’ll never be able to afford to buy their own home

TWO in five renters fear they’ll never be able to afford to buy their own home, a study shows.

It also found three in ten of those renting now think it is normal for people to do so for life.

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Younger generations are more hopeful, with only 14 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds viewing renting for life as the new norm — and more than half believing they’ll one day own a property.

By comparison, a third of 35 to 44-years-olds viewed renting for life as normal and 28 per cent believe they will never buy.

Yet over the last decade the number of first-time buyers in the UK has risen, from 72,180 in the first half of 2009, to 170,060 in the first half of 2019.

The average age of a first-time buyer rose slightly from 30 to 31 in the same period, with more than half of all mortgages going to this group — the first time this has happened since 1995.

Russell Galley, MD at Halifax, which carried out the research with YouGov, said: “Last year, first-time buyers accounted for the majority of the

mortgage market for the first time in well over 20 years. This shows that with the right support and a few sacrifices, home ownership can remain an attainable goal.”

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Mortgage affordability and saving for a deposit remain the biggest challenges.

The average first home deposit is £41,099 for an average house price of £224,709.

Ten years ago, the house price was £138,413 with a deposit of £27,059.

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