One in five people between the ages of 18 and 34 are unsure if they will ever own a home or are not planning to do so at all, new research by Yorkshire Building Society has indicated.

The society’s findings also suggested that opting out of owning could result in renters being £2.6m worse off over their lifetime.

Yorkshire Building Society asked 1,000 prospective first-time buyers about the barriers preventing them from investing in their own home, and found that worries about the level of financial commitment a house represents, affordability and the high cost of living were all cited as reasons.

Two in five people (41%) said the cost of living is the key challenge preventing them from buying their first home, and 43% have delayed purchasing due to high prices. Half (50%) also said they feel so overwhelmed by the complexity of the current market that they’ve given up looking for a property to buy.

“These latest research findings are perhaps our most stark yet, pointing to a potential loss of faith in the idea of homeownership,” Yorkshire Building Society’s director of mortgages, Ben Merritt, said.

“That – coupled with our lifetime analysis of what this means for anyone who has to settle for long-term renting – shows just how big an issue this is for the UK right now, which our respondents have seconded in the priority they have assigned to housing.”

Merritt added: “We believe homeownership is a basic right which gives people access to a range of other life essentials, and this is why we will continue doing our bit to push for it to remain available to as many people as possible.

“While it is obviously a worrying situation for first-time buyers, we want them to feel encouraged that there are solutions out there for them and if more industry players can galvanise behind this issue and give borrowers hope, they can see how compelling a prospect property still is as an asset.”

---