Lack of housing supply shatters home owning dreams of many first time buyers

Published: 02/10/2015

A recent report focusing on home ownership aspirations revealed that almost half the UK adult population had a long term aspiration to live in a three bedroomed house with a garden. The other characteristics of property that they valued were their own parking space and easy access to public transport.

However first time buyers harbouring home ownership aspirations face an uphill struggle in even getting on to the property ladder. Commentators are regularly remarking on the lack of housing – only about 118,000 houses were built last year – well below the 250,000 homes needed each year if demand was to be better matched by supply. Lack of housing has meant that choice in the market is restricted and house prices are continuing to rise. This means that first time buyers are chasing ever faster moving goal posts and, because they don’t already have a stake in property and therefore aren’t able to transfer equity built up in a property growing in value, they face a tough challenge in accruing a sufficient deposit to buy their first home. Indeed many first time buyers are postponing house purchase because house prices are rising faster than they can save.

Head of Property Lynne McCaffrey comments:

“When you’re saving to buy your first house you don’t have the opportunity to build up equity in a property and so you’re particularly affected by the impact of rising prices. The steep price rises of recent times has meant that many first time buyers can’t save a deposit with sufficient speed to keep their dream of home ownership alive.”

Content correct at time of publication