Two out of five young adults have no interest in buying a house as they are priced out of the market as prices in London DOUBLE in eight years

• Central London house prices up by 116% on 2005
• More than half of Brits 35-and-under live in rented home
• Number of renters across UK up 58% in eight years
• Almost all 55- to 75-year-olds - 93% - say owning a home an 'ultimate goal'

An Englishman's house may be his castle - but buying his own could be becoming as much a thing of the past as knights in shining armour. New figures reveal nearly half of young Brits are no longer interested in owning their homes - bucking a trend that is more akin to French and German renting culture.

Today's figures come alongside news that house prices in parts of central London have rocketed by 116 per cent in the past eight years - with Mayfair homes outstripping this at a staggering 139 per cent increase in value. This out-paces the retail price index by 86 per cent, while the average UK house price has dropped by 19.3 per cent in real terms over the same period. And while an overwhelming 93 per cent of Brits aged between 55 and 75 said they still saw owning their own property as the 'ultimate goal', just a third of under-35s felt the same way. Just over half of Brits aged 35 and under live in a home they do not own, according to the survey by financial protection specialist LV, and found 42 per cent of them are simply not bothered about owning their own home - even though many said they could afford to.

This changing outlook mirrors the culture in Germany and France, where long term renting is the norm. Germany has the greatest proportion of renters in Europe as 61 per cent choose to rent, rather than own their home. It is seen as a perfectly acceptable alternative brought about largely by the reluctance of banks to loan money for mortgages - and it’s clear the UK is now following suit. Only half of the French live in their own properties - with 52 per cent renting - due to a boom in property prices in recent years.

With British banks also tightening lending criteria, the notion of long term renting is gathering momentum here as well. And while the previous generation expected to own their first home by the age of 25, those aged 20 to 35 said they can't see themselves putting down a deposit until they’re at least 36.

Attitudes have changed too, with almost three quarters said the notion that it’s shameful to never own a property is ‘completely out of date’. More than three quarters of tenants said the Government's 'Help To Buy' scheme has not motivated them to put a foot onto the property ladder. And given the latest figures from London, it's easy to see why even successful young city workers may be less enthusiastic about finding their own place. 

More than three quarters of tenants said the Government's 'Help To Buy' scheme has not motivated them to put a foot onto the property ladder. And given the latest figures from London, it's easy to see why even successful young city workers may be less enthusiastic about finding their own place. Prime Central London - where prices have more than doubled since 2005 - is made up the affluent areas of Mayfair, Knightsbridge, Belgravia, Chelsea, Marylebone, Notting Hill, Kensington, South Kensington. After Mayfair, the top performing area was Knightsbridge, where values are up 133 per cent compared with eight years ago. It was only in Kensington and South Kensington that prices didn’t more than double over the eight-year period - although they still increased by 97 and 88 per cent respectively.

And last week, figures from the Halifax's monthly house price index showed a 5.4 per cent increase in the average value of a home, from £160,292 to £170,231 compared with the same period last year.

Source: www.dailymail.co.cuk/news

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