Homeownership Eludes Generation as Financial Barriers Mount

Strategic Insights -

Nearly one in three aspiring homeowners in the UK believes they will never be able to own a home, according to research from the Building Societies Association (BSA). The BSA's Property Tracker survey, conducted in October 2025, reveals that millions of would-be buyers face becoming Generation Rent, underlining the scale of Britain's housing challenge. Affordability pressures, policy uncertainty, and the complexity of the homebuying process are the main obstacles to homeownership.

Key Takeaways:

  • 29% of people who want to buy a home believe they will never be able to, highlighting the scale of the housing challenge in the UK.
  • Financial barriers remain the biggest obstacles to homeownership, with 58% of first-time buyers citing raising a deposit as the main obstacle and 54% pointing to the cost of monthly repayments.
  • Policy uncertainty and the complexity of the homebuying process are now significant barriers to homeownership, with 26% of respondents citing stamp duty tax as a barrier and 14% citing the complexity of the process.
  • Sentiment in the housing market remains cautious, with less than one in five people thinking it's a good time to buy, and a net confidence score of -16%.
  • The emotional toll of the housing crisis remains evident, with almost half of non-homeowners saying they expected to own a home by now.

Statistics:

  • 58% of first-time buyers cite raising a deposit as the main obstacle to homeownership.
  • 54% of first-time buyers point to the cost of monthly repayments as a barrier to homeownership.
  • 47% of respondents believe not being able to borrow enough is a major barrier to buying a home.
  • 26% of respondents cite stamp duty tax as a barrier to buying a home.
  • 14% of respondents cite the complexity of the home buying process as a major barrier.
  • 44% of non-homeowners say they expected to own a home by now.
  • 2.2 million would-be first-time buyers who might reasonably have expected to own their own home have been unable to do so since the financial crisis.
  • The proportion of 25-44 year olds who feel homeownership is completely out of their reach has risen from 27% in 2020 to 33% today.

Sources:

  • The Building Societies Association's (BSA) Property Tracker survey conducted in October 2025.
  • The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 42 UK building societies, including both mutual-owned banks, as well as 7 of the largest credit unions.
  • Building societies and mutual-owned banks have total assets of almost £650 billion.
  • Building societies and mutual-owned banks hold residential mortgages of over £485 billion, accounting for 29% of the total outstanding in the UK.
  • Building societies and mutual-owned banks hold over £485 billion of retail deposits, accounting for 23% of all such deposits in the UK.