More people will retire in rented accommodation

According to a report that was released earlier this week a large number of people that were expecting to retire in their own homes once they reached retirement age will actually end up retiring in rented accommodation. The research was carried out by propertyfinder.com, and according to the data around three million people in the UK will end up retiring in rented accommodation rather than in bought property as they expected. Some of the factors affecting these figures include the booming property prices coupled with interest rate rises.

According to the survey many people aged thirty and over are being unrealistic about getting on to the property ladder, and rather than spending their retirement years in bought accommodation will spend them in rented property. Around ninety five percent of Brits expect to own their own home at some point, according to the survey that was carried out on a group of around eleven hundred and fifty people. Of today's retired UK residents, however, only eighty percent have managed to reach that goal.

The survey results indicated that nearly ninety percent of people that were surveyed thought that they would own their own property by the time that they reached the age of forty nine. However, current figures show that only seventy four percent of people in this age group currently own their own home. From the figures and data released there seems to be something akin to false hope for those looking to get on to the property ladder.

The Chief Executive of propertyfinder.com stated that in thirty years time there would be fewer homeowners than there are today. Warren Bright added: "The desire to own a home remains deeply ingrained in the national psyche. Neither profound social changes in the way we love, move, or work, nor high house prices have diminished Britain's appetite for bricks and mortar. But many people’s eyes are bigger than their wallets – and they are likely to be disappointed."

Tom Smith
6th February 2007