Property news roundup: Millions giving up on owning their own home

Plus, digital insurance, and salaries vs house prices

(PA)

More than four million adults have given up on owning their own home, suggests a new report.

Only one in seven adults not currently on the property ladder now believe they will buy a home before they are 30, according to the figures from Castle Trust which also indicate that 1.8 million people aged 25 to 44 believe they will never be able to buy their own property.

Of those intending to buy, one in four have no idea how they will afford a deposit, around 17 per cent will borrow from parents or grandparents, and 9 per cent are waiting for an inheritance.

Sean Oldfield, Chief Executive Office at Castle Trust said: "The biggest challenge facing those who want to buy a home in the future is finding a way to save a deposit which keeps pace with rising house prices."

Over half of those trying to get on to the property ladder said that finding money for a deposit was the biggest problem, while a fifth admitted that their credit rating is not good enough to qualify for a mortgage.

Digital insurance

New research by Gocompare.com shows that 41 per cent of home insurance policies do not provide any cover for lost digital downloads.

"Because they don’t have a physical presence in the same way as a wall of DVDs, CDs, vinyl records or books, people may not have given any consideration to the value of their digital downloads," said Ben Wilson, Gocompare.com’s home insurance spokesman. "But, if you buy a lot of digital data it may be worth checking your home insurance to see if your downloads are covered because the data you purchased may no longer be available and not all providers allow you to replace lost tracks for free."

Salaries vs house prices

According to Shelter, if salaries had increased in line with house price inflation over the last 15 years, you would be earning twice as much as you do now.

The housing charity estimates that the adjusted average wage would be around £55,00, rather than the official £25,932.

In Hackney, average earnings are £31,304 but would need to be £131,924 to match property inflation. Those on average wages in Watford and Brighton & Hove would need an extra £47,000 each year to keep up with local house price inflation,  those in Manchester an extra £34,000.

"When you’d need to more than double your salary just to keep up with rising house prices, it is no surprise that the dream of a home of their own is slipping further out of reach for a generation," said Campbell Robb, Shelter’s chief executive."