Young adults 'may have to wait until middle age to be able to afford first house'
Young adults across East Yorkshire are being warned they may have to wait until middle age to buy their own home.
A survey for the National Housing Federation (NHF), representing English housing associations, says in some regions the average 21-year-old will not buy their first home until they are in their 50s.
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Lizzie Chapman
It predicted that 21-year-olds in this region will have to wait until they are 36 before getting on the property ladder.
Single mother Lizzie Chapman, 39, said she was struggling to buy her first home.
Ms Chapman, from Knights Way, Beverley, said: "I've been renting 13 years. I've been a single mother, but my daughter's grown up now - she's nearly 19.
"It's mainly because of my financial situation. It's only in the past five years I've got myself in a financial position to buy somewhere.
"It's very difficult because even someone in my situation struggles to get a mortgage that's big enough to buy somewhere as nice as where I'm living now.
"I could buy a nice apartment, but I don't want an apartment. I've got a nice house with a nice garden.
"For that your talking £150,000 to £175,000, which means having a big deposit.
"I've put it on the back burner because I don't have the time to look.
"I do have a partner and we have talked about getting somewhere together because that would make a big difference."
Ms Chapman has been the manager of Xen Jewellery Design, in Toll Gavel, Beverley, for seven years and has no wish to move out of town.
She said: "It's convenient because I walk to work. There's no point in buying somewhere that would mean me having to buy a car."
The NHF forecasts are based on how long the average 21-year-old will have to wait until they can afford a 20 per cent deposit and earn enough money to qualify for a mortgage.
NHF chief executive David Orr said: "First-time buyers will have to save religiously for two decades before they can finally afford to get their own place, by which time they're likely to be in their 40s and delayed having a family.
"This report highlights how home ownership is increasingly becoming a pipe dream rather than a reality for millions of young people without wealthy parents to support them and demonstrates the scale of the crisis."
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by sally, Beverley
Sunday, September 05 2010, 6:12PM
“Does this Mike bloke seem to have an issue with people who live in Beverley, it is really expensive to live here but well worth the money with good schooling for our children.”
by Sam, Hull
Sunday, September 05 2010, 6:00PM
“This is what happens when you have a succession of governments, labour and conservative, who pursue a low inflation / low pay rise economy while simultaneously encouraging run-away inflation in the housing market.
Back when god was a lad (1963) my father bought the three bedroom Victorian terraced house I was born and grew up in for £2000 which was about one year's wages for him. Due to the action of inflation and inflation matching price rises he paid off the 25 year mortgage after 15 years with what amounted to small change.
When he bought that house he was a skilled toolmaker so his money was OK but not particularly impressive. The last I heard the house was on the market for £400,000. Totally out of the price range of almost everybody who doesn't already have a house to sell.
I bought a tiny 2 bed house in Goole in 1995 for £20,000 and sold in 2004 for £70,000. Last year it was up for sale at £100,000 totally out of the price range of anybody on minimum wage. When 'starter homes' in Goole are too expensive something has definitely gone wrong with the world.
MIke is at least partly right when he blames Thatcher. It was the Thatcher government who started the insane house price inflation by forcing councils to sell off their stock at a massive discount while preventing them spending the money raised on new-builds. It just injected billions of pounds of funny-money in to the housing sector.
As for me... Barring a massive win on the lottery I don't do I'll be renting from now on.”
by Badger, Renting
Sunday, September 05 2010, 5:45PM
“On my salary, which is not huge by any means, I could get a mortgage. The problem I, and so many others have, is that I do not have enough money for a deposit. It's all very well saying people should buy when the prices are low, but if you cannot afford the deposite, then it's a non-starter.
I've lived in Beverley all my life, but cannot afford the deposite on even a 2 up 2 down terrace or a 1 bedroom flat.
I work in Beverley and cannot drive for medical reasons, so if I left the town I'd be reliant on public transport, rather than walking to work, so that would be another expense.
The culture of, in some cases, a 25% deposite being required, means people who could get a mortgage and stumped before they even start. If you're on a limited salary and renting, along with putting money into a pension for your future, it will take a very long time to have a deposite big enough and so it's an endless cycle.”
by Jim, Hull
Sunday, September 05 2010, 3:12PM
“In the sixties young people were quite happy to leave home and live in a bed-sit with a shared kitchen and bathroom. Now they all want to have their own houses by the time they are 21.
As for the article on Ms Chapman. She is a single mother living in a nice house with a nice garden close to her nice work. She could buy a nice apartment but she doesn't want one and doesn't have time to look for a nice house to buy with her nice boyfriend.
Sounds like a bit of a non-story to me.”
by rod, East Hull
Saturday, September 04 2010, 10:27PM
“Anyone who wants to buy a house should look at some of the terraced properties across Hull. They're cheaper than just about anywhere else in the country - so you don't have to be earning a packet to be able to get one. And they're good basic houses for a first time buyer. 2beds, a yard, and all on your own land. That's what people down south pay half a mill for.”