BSA research finds 29% of aspiring homeowners believe they will never own a home

Nearly one in three (29%) people who want to buy a home believe they will never be able to, according to the Building Societies Association's Property Tracker survey, published on 30 October 2025¹. The survey of 2,088 adults was carried out online between 6 and 7 October 2025 and weighted to be representative of all GB adults aged 18 and over¹.

Affordability remains the most commonly cited obstacle. Six in ten (58%) first-time buyers say raising a deposit is the main barrier, and 54% point to the cost of monthly repayments¹. Some 47% say not being able to borrow enough is a major barrier, despite what the BSA describes as recent regulatory changes giving lenders greater flexibility to support creditworthy borrowers¹.

Stamp duty has risen sharply as a stated concern. Over a quarter (26%) said stamp duty is now a barrier to buying a home, up from 7% three years earlier in September 2022¹. Frustration with the complexity of the buying process is at its highest level recorded in the survey, with 14% viewing it as a major barrier, up from 10% in July¹.

Less than one in five (17%) people think now is a good time to buy, against a third (33%) who disagree, a net confidence score of -16%, which the BSA describes as a modest improvement on the summer's -21%¹. Almost half (44%) of non-homeowners say they expected to own a home by now¹. The BSA cites earlier research finding that 2.2 million would-be first-time buyers who might reasonably have expected to own a home have been unable to do so, and that the proportion of 25 to 44 year olds who feel homeownership is completely out of reach has risen from 27% in 2020 to 33% today¹.

Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage and Housing Policy at the BSA, said:

The BSA says property tax reform is reportedly under consideration in the forthcoming Budget, and that speculation can stall transactions as buyers and sellers wait to see what happens¹. It also notes the Government's consultation on reforming the home buying and selling process¹. The Budget date and the consultation's timetable are not given in the release.

Why it matters for households

The findings describe how people already trying to buy feel about their prospects, rather than setting out any change to the rules. For renters hoping to buy, the survey indicates that deposit size, monthly repayment levels and the amount lenders will advance are the barriers most often named, and that a growing share also name stamp duty, a cost that falls due on completion and sits alongside other costs of buying a house¹. The rise in stamp duty being named as a barrier coincides with speculation about property tax changes ahead of the Budget, which the BSA links to buyers and sellers delaying decisions¹. For anyone weighing up mortgages, the survey reports that 47% still see borrowing limits as a major obstacle even after regulatory changes intended to give lenders more flexibility¹. The BSA's wider figures put building societies and mutual-owned banks at 29% of UK residential mortgage lending outstanding and 23% of retail deposits¹.

What happens next

The release points to the forthcoming Budget, where property tax reform is reportedly under consideration, and to the Government's consultation on reforming the home buying and selling process¹. No dates for either are given in the release. The BSA says it will continue to publish first-time buyer research¹.