Nearly two in five (37%) Brits say it is unlikely they will ever be able to afford to buy a property in their hometown, according to new research by regulated property buyer Good Move.
The results come after Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick, announced plans to give first-time buyers a 20% discount if they purchase property in the area where they grew up.
Good Move’s study of 2,000 UK adults suggests that such an initiative is much-needed.
The average age of a first-time buyer in the UK has risen to 30, meaning that most people will be saving for a home throughout their twenties. However, young people are the least confident that they will be able to buy somewhere in their childhood city, with 44% of 18-24-year-olds believing that their local house prices are too expensive.
Regionally speaking, the people of Cardiff are the most despondent about their chances of buying a property in their area, with over half (51%) of those who grew up in the Welsh capital thinking that local houses are out of their financial reach.
In contrast, Brits born in Sheffield and Bristol feel that they have the best chance of buying in their city, with just 26% and 28% respectively believing it won’t be possible.
Surprisingly, Londoners feel fairly confident that they will be able to afford the city’s notoriously high house prices. More than three in five (62%) people born in the capital think that it’s likely that they will be able to buy somewhere in their area.
The research also asked Brits exactly how close they want to live to the place they grew up. On average, people would like to live 21 miles away from their parents, but the younger generations are less bothered about being nearby.
The age group most keen to keep distance from their family is 25-34-year-olds, whose optimum distance is 24 miles.
Brits are less interested in living near their in-laws, with the average desired distance being 36 miles. Interestingly, while women like to live closer to their parents then men do, the reverse is true for in-laws.
“While a little bit of distance from family can be healthy, the majority of people would probably want to live in the same area and unfortunately house prices often prevent this from happening,” Ross Counsell, director at Good Move, comments.
“A lot of Brits will feel attached to the place where they grew up so it’s a real shame that many are getting priced out of living there. Hopefully new initiatives, like the one the government proposed recently, will help address the issue.”
The 10 cities where people are most unlikely to be able to afford to buy property in their childhood area are as follows:
1) Cardiff – 51%
2) Norwich – 43%
3) Belfast – 41%
4) Nottingham – 40%
5) Manchester – 38%
6) Southampton – 38%
7) London – 38%
8) Liverpool – 37%
9) Leeds – 34%
10) Newcastle – 34%
The full research, as well as Good Move’s best alternatives to the UK’s most unaffordable places to live, can be viewed here.
