A YouGov survey for the New Homes Marketing Board suggests the perennial chatter about young people choosing to rent, for lifestyle reasons (freedom from debt, freedom to move with your job), is all about a very vocal minority. Over 80% surveyed said they'd be unhappy renting permanently; in the under-35 bracket that rose to 90%, presumably because this is the generation that has suffered most from unrealistic demands on the first-time buyer. What's more, according to NHMB's David Pretty:

Even if renting is seen as a worst-case scenario for many people, there seems to be an assumption that renting will still somehow be affordable in the future. But the supply and variety of homes for rent, like homes for sale, is ultimately controlled by land availability and the planning system, and an ongoing serious shortage of supply will simply drive up rents as it has driven up prices.

Yeah, I know... supply-and-demand. If tenants can't actually afford rents, then rents can't keep going up. But I think the point Pretty's making is that they'll be able to afford the rent, but unable to save for a deposit/cost of buying. Rising rents will lock tenants into renting.

[via The Move Channel]

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