Do Younger People Still Want to Own a Home?

We hear a lot about “Generation Rent” and how younger people have supposedly given up on owning a home. Yet the latest English Housing Survey tells a more encouraging story.

Around 69% of households headed by someone aged between 16 and 34 still expect to buy a home one day. Interestingly, that is exactly the same percentage as it was ten years ago.

Considering how much has changed since 2014, that is quite striking. House prices have risen, rents are higher and everyday living costs have made saving more difficult. Even so, the ambition to own a home has not disappeared.

More under-35s are buying

There has also been real progress.

In 2014-15, just 31% of households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 owned their home. Today, that figure has risen to 42%. Over the same period, the proportion privately renting has fallen from 50% to 43%.

These figures relate to younger people already living independently, rather than everyone in that age group. Even so, they show that more under-35s are managing to buy than they were a decade ago.

It is taking longer

The biggest change appears to be the timescale.

Almost half of those who expect to buy think it will take at least five years, while only 11% believe they will get there within the next one or two years.

That feels familiar from the conversations we have with first-time buyers in Lancaster. Many are not expecting to move immediately. They are saving gradually, watching mortgage rates and thinking carefully about which areas and property types may suit their budget.

For some, that means considering a smaller home, a different part of Lancaster or a property that needs some updating. Buying a first home has always involved compromise, but those compromises may be greater now.

Savings remain key

Among those who have already bought, 78% used their own savings towards the deposit. Around 29% also received a gift or loan from family, while 21% used money from the sale of a previous home.

Family support clearly helps some buyers, but most are still doing a significant amount of saving themselves.

The real story is not that younger people have stopped believing in home ownership. It is that they are taking longer, planning more carefully and being more flexible about how they get there.

Source: Dataloft by PriceHubble, English Housing Survey 2024-25, published May 2026.