The lender trade body said 81% of British adults hope to be home-owners in ten years' time and 74% aspire to it within two years.
Aspirations are much higher than current home-ownership levels among those aged under 35 but it is far from clear whether and how people will achieve their home-ownership goal.
Notably, most of those who are renting privately or sharing with family or friends are under 35 and more than half of these (54%) would like to become home-owners over the short term.
Only a third (33%) of those who hope to be home-owners in two years time actually expect it to happen.
CML chief economist Bob Pannell said based on a survey undertaken by YouGov the desire for home-ownership has fallen back a little in recent years but still remains strongly entrenched across all age groups.
He said: "The results clearly show that the British love affair with home-ownership is far from over.
“But achieving the home-ownership dream has become more difficult for people and is likely to remain so, especially for the young.
"We need to ensure that good quality housing is available in a variety of different tenures, and that the growing private rented sector represents an attractive choice for those who do not want, or cannot attain, home-ownership.
“However, we also need to recognise that for the overwhelming majority of people, home-ownership is still the ultimate goal."
