YBS warns of “lost generation of homeowners” as homeownership confidence declines
The mutual's latest report, 'No way home? Restoring Britain's Housing Ladder', found 88% of UK adults believe homeownership is important.
Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has warned the UK risks creating a “lost generation of homeowners” as new research suggests confidence in achieving homeownership falls sharply with age despite strong aspirations to buy.
The mutual’s latest report, ‘No way home? Restoring Britain’s Housing Ladder’, found 88% of UK adults believe homeownership is important.
However, while 76% of people aged 25 to 34 aspire to own a home, this falls to 59% among 35 to 44-year-olds, 38% for those aged 45 to 54, 20% for 55 to 64-year-olds and just 8% for over-65s.
YBS said the findings indicate that many people who have not bought a home by their mid-40s begin to believe they never will.
The report identified barriers including saving for a deposit, affordability pressures, limited housing supply, a lack of confidence in the mortgage process and the costs associated with moving home.
It called for reforms to improve access to homeownership, including earlier guidance for prospective buyers, better use of lending flexibility, increased housing supply, changes to Stamp Duty Land Tax and a replacement for the Help to Buy scheme.
Tom Simpson, managing director of homes at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Britain hasn’t fallen out of love with homeownership — far from it. People still see owning a home as central to their stability, their security and their future.
“But what’s changing is belief. For too many people, particularly those who haven’t bought by their late 30s, the dream starts to feel out of reach.
“With older Millennials now reaching their mid-40s, at Yorkshire Building Society we are concerned that the UK may already be seeing the early effects of a lost generation — and without action, this risk could extend to younger cohorts.
“If we want that opportunity to exist for the next generation, the time to act is now.”
Simpson added: “Fixing the housing ladder isn’t just about helping people take their first step — it’s about making sure they can move through it as their lives change.
“We need government, industry and lenders to come together as they never have done before, to create a system that works from start to finish: helping people become ready to buy, helping more people access ownership, and making it easier for them to move on when the time comes.
“That’s what a functioning housing market should do — and right now, it isn’t doing it well enough.
“At Yorkshire Building Society, our Purpose is clear — we exist to provide Real Help with Real Life, bringing members together to make good homes possible for more people, and calling for change in the housing system.”
“That means looking beyond individual products and thinking about how the whole system works — because helping people find a home isn’t just about today, it’s about their future too.”
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