Is Home Ownership now less of a Status Symbol?
05 Jan 2010 Tell a Friend
It seems that one of the effects of the recent property market crash is that more people are choosing to rent, rather than take on a potentially risky housing investment. According to professional advice site Unbiased.co.uk, over 1.75 million homeowners would now consider selling their home in order to start renting.
So what are the main reasons for this shift in the attitudes of British homeowners? Almost a third of those renting (31%) have found that renting gives them more freedom, and that home ownership - or rather, the mortgage that is a feature of house purchasing for many Britons, often presents more of a financial burden than a form of security.
12% of homeowners no longer feel that owning their own home represents a status symbol, and therefore do not aspire to climbing the property ladder to the same extent as before.
As a measure of exactly how much attitudes have changed, 32% of the 1.75 million homeowners wavering about whether to sell up stated that they would not have considered this as an option in the past. A further 31% said that the price that they would get for selling their property would be too low to make it worth considering.
Interestingly however, British renters do not seem to have been put off to the same extent, with 13% of renters stating that they still hoped to purchase their own property. This enthusiasm for home ownership seems fairly concentrated in the 18-34 age bracket, with 22% willing to buy as compared to only 6% in the 35-54 bracket.
For those who have seen the values of their properties plummet in recent years, there is clearly plenty of trepidation about borrowing money for an unstable investment. Renters on the other hand seem to still place a certain value on the ownership of property, perhaps considering it still to be a form of security as Britain slowly comes out of recession.
Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk comments, "While there are mixed messages as to whether house prices are now starting to rise again, it is clear that the property market crash has had a profound effect on the way people view their homes. For many who own their own home, the worry and stress of this through the property market volatility has caused them to re-think about whether long-term renting is a viable option for them."
"It has also caused renters to think about their long-term options, and while some still want to get on the property ladder despite the recent crash, many have now decided that the British status symbol of owning your own home no longer has the same importance. For those renters who are still looking to get on the property ladder, especially first time buyers, it is vital that they see a whole of market mortgage adviser to ensure they are getting the best possible advice from the whole of the market.