Many Britons have given up on their dream of owning a home amid high house prices and poor pay rises , research has found . Many Britons have given up on their dream of owning a home amid high house prices and poor pay rises , a study shows . It found that just four in 10 renters ( 43 per cent ) aged 20 to 45 are saving for a deposit to buy a home , compared to almost half a year ago ( 49 per cent ) . According to research from Halifax , three-quarters of UK renters also fear they will never be able to afford to buy their own house . This rises to eight in 10 for Londoners , where house prices have risen by double-digits in recent years . The mortgage lender ’ s report , called Generation Rent , said the data ‘ strengthens the view ’ that more people may be giving up on the idea of owning their own home and are instead accepting the idea of long-term renting . They said if people believe buying a house is completely unobtainable , ‘ a lower level of homeownership will become the new normal ’ and ‘ the presumption that the UK is obsessed with homeownership may soon become a myth ’ . The survey found the three most common barriers to home ownership were the size of the deposit needed , high property prices and low incomes . Non-homeowners said they would be willing to save for about five years and four months to save for a deposit . But even then , owning a home remains out of reach for many . Government schemes such as Help to Buy have enabled people to get on or move up the property ladder with a low deposit . Scroll down for video . But while half of people believed this had a positive impact , 8 per cent believe this had a negative impact , amid fears it has fuelled demand , pushing up prices . Three-quarters of those surveyed also thought banks were reluctant to lend to first-time buyers . Figures recently released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed the number of first-time buyers getting on the property ladder last year reached its highest levels since 2007 . More than 300,000 people bought their first home in 2014 . Just four in 10 renters aged 20 to 45 are saving for a deposit to buy a home , according to research by Halifax . But Craig McKinlay , mortgages director at Halifax , said : ‘ While there has been an increase in first-time buyers in the last 12 months , at the same time there is also a growing group of young people who believe they won ’ t be able to get a mortgage . ‘ The difference between the reality and their perception needs to be addressed urgently if we are to prevent people from giving up on getting on the housing ladder. ’ The survey questioned 40,000 people aged 20 to 45 .
Just four in 10 renters aged 20 to 45 are saving for a deposit to buy a home . This is compared to almost half a year ago , according to Halifax research . Also found that 49 per cent of UK renters fear they will never be able to afford to buy their own house .