Report: A home of their own

To assess the extent to which young people are excluded from home-ownership, Shelter commissioned Liverpool Economics to produce estimates of the time it would take first-time buyers to save a 20% deposit in each county and unitary authority in England. These estimates take into account current and projected house prices, incomes, essential costs (food, transport utilities) and rent by household type across the country. The analysis assesses the length of time households currently in their twenties can expect to save for a deposit for their first home.

This report presents the findings from this research and looks at the length of time it would take three types of households to save for a deposit to buy a house. It looks at the length of time on a national, regional and a local or unitary authority level. It does not assess the extent to which mortgage repayments are likely to be affordable compared to renting, nor to make any judgement about whether renting or home ownership is the appropriate tenure for each household type.