Online estate agent Urban.co.uk have surveyed 1,000 tenants nationwide as part of their Tenant Survey 2015, and have discovered that as a nation we are not positive about getting a foot on the ladder.
Key points from the survey included:
• 65% of renters are negative about their buying prospects
• 49% of renters don’t expect to be on the property ladder within five years
• 53% blame the changeable job market for their inability to buy
• 59% say that Buy to Let can’t help them
• 62% will need help from family or an inheritance to buy a property
• 43% say the government should be doing more
Adam Male, Urban.co.uk co-founder said: "We believe it’s really important that tenants have their voices heard. Until you own a property, either as a homeowner or a landlord you very rarely get a chance to speak your mind, so we wanted to give the nation’s tenants a chance to voice their opinions about the property market."
The tenants certainly didn’t hold back – the research has shown that nearly 50% of tenants expect it to be five years before they are able to buy a property, with 22% not expecting to be able to get on the property ladder at all. This may be down to the rising initial costs of buying, which are biggest barrier for 60% of potential buyers.
With the rising property prices, 60% of tenants surveyed admitted that they will be reliant on the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ to buy a home. Others are turning to the government for assistance, with 9% hoping to take advantage of the Help-to-Buy scheme. Government assistance isn’t for everyone though, with 59% of respondents believing that the Help-to-Buy scheme ‘isn’t much use to them’ and a further 43% believing that the government aren’t doing enough to help people get on the ladder.
It wasn’t all bad news though. Despite the turbulent job market, 53% of tenants believe that the lack of stability in the economic world hasn’t has a direct impact on their inability to buy a property, and 42% still hope to buy ‘soon’, despite the odds.
Adam said: "There is so much data about prices and housing stock, but little about how people actually feel about their position in the market. Understanding people’s property woes and being able to address them is the only way that we will be able to address the underlying issues within the UK’s market."
