Is home ownership losing appeal?

The number of Britons who dream about buying their own property may be on the decline, a new study has suggested - which could be more people are looking to take advantage of the benefits of renting.

According to Scottish Provident, 52 per cent of people now believe that owning their own home is a "very important" part of allowing them to enjoy a reasonable standard of living, which is a fall of nine per cent since 2003.

Conducted by Ipsos MORI, the study also revealed attitudes in home ownership have changed the most in people aged 55 to 64, with only 44 per cent of this age group seeing owning their own house as very important.

Susan Barclay, head of marketing at Scottish Provident, said: "These findings underline how there is far less desire to get onto the property ladder than there once was."

She added that thousands of people were still unable to afford high house prices.

With this in mind, Britons could find that flats to rent in Fulham or another part of London are more affordable than property for sale in the same areas.

Housing minister John Healey recently claimed owning a home was becoming less of a priority to Britons, the Independent reported.

Written by Andy Britten

Published 14th December, 2009

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