As a result, the proportion of young people (aged under 25) who want to own within two years has dropped over the last two decades from 79% in 1983 to only 43%.
The CML survey reinforced that home-ownership remains by far the most popular tenure, with 80% of all adults wanting to be home-owners within ten years. But only 72% want to be home-owners in two years' time.
Although there are likely to be various reasons for this shift in attitude, affordability problems are likely to have constrained younger people's perceptions of their own ability to enter the market in the short term.
When asked what might encourage people to buy within the next two years, there were some dramatic differences between existing home-owners and those who want to become home-owners within the next two years. 63% of would-be first-time buyers say they are discouraged by high house prices, compared with only 30% of existing owners. And they are also more likely to be deterred by their level of income or the fear of interest rates rising than existing home-owners.
Nevertheless, a fifth of existing home-owners and those who aspire to own within two years say that they are quite likely to buy over this timescale. And people who are currently renting, but who want to be home-owners, show a particularly marked likelihood to buy, with over four-fifths saying they are likely to buy within the next two years.
The CML has also today published an analysis of research among recent mortgage borrowers on their perceptions of the mortgage industry, and of taking out a mortgage. This research was undertaken just before mortgage regulation took effect on 31 October last year, and the CML will be repeating the research this autumn to see whether regulation has had an impact on borrowers' views.
