Home Ownership Is As Attractive As Ever

More people than ever before want to own their own home in the long term, despite the credit crunch and low consumer confidence levels.

Owning their own home ten years from now is the goal of 85% or people who responded to a study conducted by the Council For Mortgage Lenders (CML). These findings show that the aspiration to own a home is as strong now as before the credit crunch.

However over a shorter term – two years – there appears to be less appetite for home ownership, particularly among the 18 to 24 years age group.

This is almost certainly due to the greater flexibilty and mobility required by young people as they start out on their careers. It is also likely to relect the difficulties of gaining a foothold in the property market as mortgages remain difficult to secure and large deposits are still required by lenders.

Tightening up regulatory control of the mortgage market is likely to create more barriers for home ownership, particularly for the young, as CML director general Michael Coogan points out:

“It is crystal clear that most people see home-ownership as their tenure of choice over the long term. But the unintended consequence of regulatory change is that it is going to be permanently tougher for people – especially young people – to fulfil that aspiration in the future, even if they are responsible with their finances.

“Home-ownership levels are already falling, and they will continue to fall. Is that the outcome that policymakers want? It is certainly not what consumers want, but it’s what they’re likely to end up with.”

“We urge politicians and regulators to pause and think again about the cumulative effects of their well-intentioned but poorly targeted package of regulatory changes.”