Rightmove survey shows 60% of renters can't afford to buy a house

PROPERTY website Rightmove say almost two-thirds of renters feel trapped because they want to buy a home but cannot afford to do so.

The research underlines the frustrations faced by millions locked out of home ownership, dubbed generation rent, as the spiralling cost of letting and a revived property market curb these aspirations.

In the Rightmove survey of 3,000 tenants, 60% say they are unable to get a toehold on the ladder – an 8% rise since 2011 when the annual survey began.

Of these trapped renters, a third had owned a property but decided to sell and return to the rental sector, and now find themselves priced out of the market.

The survey also found that one in six of those expecting to buy for the first time this year will be age 40 or over.

Despite difficulties, Britons' desire to own a home has not diminished, with 96% of renters surveyed aspiring to this, and seven in 10 saying they would not give up on that dream.

Record high rents have made it hard for would-be buyers to build up a big enough deposit to afford a home, despite signs that banks and building societies are becoming more willing to provide higher  loan to value mortgages.

Buying will become increasingly harder if prices continue to rise in 2013, with prices in July already 3.9% higher than in 2012, according to Nationwide. 

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: "Even though some agents are reporting an increase in those buying and escaping the rental trap, the growing number of new households and former homeowners returned to the rental sector keeps producing new tenants.

"In spite of buying looking increasingly attractive as the costs of renting continue to rise, saving a deposit continues to get harder. For many of those trapped in rented accommodation and dreaming of escape, it's a nightmare scenario."

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