"First-time buyer numbers, despite recent fanfare, are a long way from pre-recession levels"
The figures show that over the same period, the private rented sector has grown by 2.2m households as the 'ongoing affordability crisis' for first-time buyers continues to support the long-term growth of the sector.
Just over 363,000 first-time buyers used a mortgage to buy a home last year, still 94,000 fewer than the typical number seen in the ten years prior to the financial crisis, despite an increasing population.
Without a sustained recovery in first-time buyer activity, this means 940,000 fewer first-time buyers will purchase their first home over the next decade than in the 10 years before the financial crisis.
ONS forecasts suggest an additional 2.4m households will be created in Great Britain over the next ten years. Conservatively, assuming first-time buyer numbers recover somewhat, and private renting continues to account for a little over a fifth of households, rental housing supply will still need to cater for an additional half-a-million households.
Andy Golding, Chief Executive of OneSavings Bank, commented: “Landlords were left reeling after the introduction of tighter regulation and higher taxes, while the spectre of Brexit is already weighing on the housing market. This has naturally deterred investment into the private rented sector, especially from amateur speculators.
“Political opinion may be set against the PRS, but without it, the housing crisis would be deeper still. First-time buyer numbers, despite recent fanfare, are a long way from pre-recession levels and with household numbers growing, and new housing starts inadequate, it is the PRS that will continue to pick up the slack. Policy should recognise that, and support growth in supply across all tenures.
“A housing market with dwindling supply of rental accommodation yet growing demand would, without a significant rise in affordable housing, provide the worst of all worlds for tenants: higher rents, with less choice and security, hampering their ability to save to buy a home.”
