More people in UK want to buy a home but are concerned about rising prices

More people dream of becoming home owners in the UK with new research showing 73% aspire to owning a property, up from 65% four years ago.

However some 78% of aspiring home owners are concerned about the availability and quality of homes, up 6% from last year, and house prices, the ability to get on the property ladder and saving for a deposit continue to top the nation’s list of housing concerns
 
Overall the 2016 home owner survey conducted by YouGov for the HomeOwners Alliance and BLP Insurance suggests that the housing crisis is deepening as concerns mount about the availability and quality of homes.

While the desire to own is rising, the ability of first time buyers to get on the housing ladder and saving for a deposit remains the top concerns nationally, at 82% and 80% respectively.

On top of this, the proportion of aspiring homeowners who say that the availability of housing is a serious problem has increased to 78%, up from 72% last year. Aspiring home owners are also increasingly concerned about the quality of housing, with 60% saying it is a serious problem.
 
The survey shows that the housing crisis is most acute in the capital, as Londoners head to the polls to elect a new mayor.
 
However, there is a noticeable drop in concern about the rates of stamp duty, in the wake of the government’s reforms of the stamp duty system. Concern about negative equity has slumped among the UK overall to 44% from 64% two years ago, as house prices have continued to rise.
 
‘Despite government initiatives aimed at helping home owners, the housing crisis is deepening across the country, with ever more non-home owners wanting their own home, and ever greater concern about the lack of housing,’ said Paula Higgins, chief executive of the HomeOwners Alliance.

‘Many government policies have boosted demand for homes, but what this survey shows is that the real problem is the desperate shortage of houses. Until the government tackles the fundamental issue that we just don’t have enough good quality homes, the housing crisis will continue to deepen and a generation will continue to have their dreams of homeownership crushed,’ she added.
 
According to Kim Vernau, chief executive of BLP Insurance, the current situation is a critical juncture for the construction industry and housing market. ‘The government urgently needs to speed up the delivery of new homes for aspiring first time buyers. Tenures of all types are required across the country and affordable housing and social housing should also be a priority,’ he said.

‘Balancing these competing demands is a challenging task, particularly given the shortage of labour skills that we are currently witnessing in the construction industry. This is likely to get worse in the absence of key initiatives to help address this critical issue and the new Housing and Planning Bill and threat of a potential Brexit could tilt the construction labour market even further off balance,’ he added.
 
Regionally, quality of housing concerns are greater in the North East and Northern Ireland at 62%, London at 60% and the East Midlands at 59%. Concern about the quality of homes has risen in each of these areas over the past year.

However, people are less worried about the cost of moving than they were a few years ago. Those concerned about stamp duty rises dropped from 65$ to 52%, solicitor and conveyancing gees from 61% to 50% and estate agent fees from 64% to 54%.

Concern about house prices are most acute in London and worsening where 88% say house prices are a serious problem, up from 87% last year and 84% in 2014.

Propertywire