57 per cent of Generation Rent have given up on saving for a home, says new study

92 per cent of respondents said attaining a mortgage would either be hard, very hard, or virtually impossible

Optimism towards home ownership was consistently low across all regions of the UK, with over 70 per cent of all people worrying that they will never be able to buy a home. (Getty Images)

57 per cent of ‘Generation Rent’ has given up on saving for their first home, according to a Halifax survey.

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According to the survey, 40,000 respondents cited job insecurity as the biggest barrier to applying for a mortgage, and 92 per cent of people said attaining a mortgage would either be hard, very hard, or virtually impossible.

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53 per cent of 20-45 year olds think that the Help to Buy scheme has had a positive impact, while 8 per cent think it has been negative, with the remaining 39 per cent either ignorant or undecided.

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Optimism towards home ownership was consistently low across all regions of the UK, with over 70 per cent of all people worrying that they will never be able to buy a home.

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Lloyds Banking Group said: “In the last five years the fundamental issue at the heart of the UK housing remains unchanged.

“We still need to address the matter of agreeing a sustainable house building programme over the long-term.“

118,760 homes were completed in England last year, representing an eight per cent increase on 2013 yet still 33 per cent fewer than in 2007.