Shock figures show it takes 16 years to buy a house in Southampton

Charity Shelter says a shortage of affordable housing across the south has caused house prices to rocket, leaving many peoples’ hopes of owning their own home a “fantasy”.

In new research released today Shelter says it will take 16 years for couples in their twenties with children to save enough for a deposit on a house in Southampton.

And it will take more than 14 years for people in Hampshire to do the same. Southampton is above the average for the South East, which stands at 15 years.

Shelter says average wages, house prices, rent and spending on essentials were all taken into account to compile the research.

Although couples without children face lengthy waits – of seven years in Southampton and eight in Hampshire – the costs of renting and saving for a deposit means many have to choose between starting their own family and buying a home, says Shelter.

And single people in their twenties face an even longer wait according to the research carried out by Liverpool Economics.

Twenty-something singletons in Southampton face a wait of 14.8 years while those in the rest of Hampshire have to wait 15.5 years.

The charity also carried out a separate nationwide poll, which showed that six in ten parents believe young people’s chances of getting on the housing ladder have worsened over recent years.

Shelter’s chief executive Campbell Robb said: “Home ownership used to be within most people’s reach but the rising shortage of affordable homes has pushed house prices up so high that for millions of young people it’s now just a fantasy, however hard they work or save. The reality is that unless we get a grip on the housing shortage soon children today could spend decades paying out dead money in expensive rents or living at home well into adulthood with little hope of planning for their own families.”

He called on politicians to “roll up their sleeves” and build more affordable homes.

Lynda Burrows, sales manager at Southampton-based estate agent Leaders, said “dramatic” property prices were partly to blame, with prices increasing on average by ten per cent every year since the Second World War.

She also said getting a mortgage was harder than it used to be with fewer lenders and stricter criteria meaning most buyers now need deposits of 15 to 20 per cent as opposed to 0 to ten per cent before the recession.

Years before we can afford to buy

CLAIRE and Robert Legg have wanted to move out of their flat in Archers Road and buy a house in Southampton for almost two years.

But the pair say the cost of rent and deposits means they and five-year-old daughter Emma are not going to be able to get onto the housing ladder any time soon.

Claire, 25, who works in advertising sales, said: “We would be looking at houses for £170/180,000, which is the lower end of the spectrum, but we’ll be looking at years before we can afford to buy.

“With estate agent fees on top of a ten per cent deposit you are looking at about £20,000. I don’t even want to think about what it’s going to take to save that. You put aside money every month, but you’ve got to live as well.

“We are only renting a flat at the moment so we can save money to buy a house, but we are living in quite cramped conditions – if we rented a house I don’t know if we would be able to save.

Fellow advertising salesman Robert, 27, added: “It’s frustrating because we can comfortably afford a mortgage, which is cheaper than what we pay in rent.”