Homeowners struggle to get better mortgage deals

It has been revealed in a recent report that many homeowners across the UK are struggling to get new and more affordable mortgage deals, as the recession and the difficult financial climate results in lenders still being very careful about their lending criteria. Read more

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Debt becomes ‘norm’ for Brits

Getting into debt is now accepted as normal and in many cases necessary, an industry expert has said.

Alastair Mathews, director of policy educational charity pfeg, explained that if people wish to go to university or buy a house, most will rely on loans to do so and will thus not be able to avoid getting into debt.

With credit easily available to those needing it over the past few years, it has been easier than ever to build up considerable debt.

“We have almost officially built debt in to the system now,” said Mr Mathews.

He continued: “We have a changing culture from the traditional British attitude of wanting something and saving for it – where maybe you waited for half a lifetime for it – to now, where the feeling is ‘if I want something, I’ll have it’.”

According to statistics from Credit Action published this month, total personal debt in Britain stands at £1,380 billion. This figure has gone up by an impressive £120 billion (10 per cent) in the past twelve months.

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Homeowner demographics are changing

The UK’s demographics are changing and as a result our living habits are developing too.

According to new research by Alliance and Leicester in conjunction with the think tank Centre of Future Studies, our changing social landscape means that people are staying at certain life stages longer than before.

A decreasing rate of mortality and fertility have changed the way we pigeonhole people and the study says that most of us live in more houses in our life times than we would have in previous years.

The report suggests that the adkid demographic will be prevalent in the coming years, with around 80 per cent of people falling into the category by 2026.

This points to people who prolong the length of time they spend living with their parents, therefore gaining the title of adult children (adkid).

Adkids are said to be more susceptible to having a Peter Pan attitude – the desire to not grow up – and according to the report means that leaving home, getting married and having children are put off until later in life.

Overall, the study predicts that household numbers will increase in the future with a number of factors having an impact.

It anticipates that more people will live alone due to increased divorce rates, while marital homes will become less common.

“Changing demographics and social attitudes will inevitably have an effect on the housing market in the future, for example, the number of times that people move in their lifetime, or the increase or decrease in the type of household they live in,” commented director of mortgages at Alliance and Leicester Stephen Leonard.

“These trends are predicted to change dramatically in the next 20 years.”

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