Section:GDN 1N PaGe:12 Edition Date:190731 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 30/7/2019 20:29 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Wednesday 31 July 2019
(^12) National
Miles Brignall
One of Britain’s biggest mortgage lend-
ers has found that 70% of young people
now believe that the homeownership
dream is over for their generation.
Having conducted the largest study
of fi rst-time buyers , Santander said
its own fi gures suggested that fewer
than 25% of 18- to 34-year-olds would
be in a position to buy a home by the
year 2026.
The Spanish-owned bank said that
while 91% of the young people inter-
viewed still aspired to own a home,
more than two-thirds said it was
unlikely to happen unless they inher-
ited the deposit from their parents.
Back in 2006 about half of those under
34 were able to get on the property
ladder, the bank said.
The study found that the sharpest
fall in fi rst-time buyer homeowner-
ship ha d been among those on middle
incomes – those earning between
Dan Sabbagh
British defence exports rose to a record
£14bn in 2018, with sales to Saudi
Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and other
countries in the Middle East account-
ing for nearly 80% of that figure,
offi cial fi gures reveal.
Campaigners said the statistics,
released yesterday, showed that
Britain was “arming and support-
ing repressive regimes”, while the
Department for International Trade
(DIT) said they demonstrated that the
UK had returned to its position as the
world’s second-largest arms exporter
after the US.
Defence orders rose by £5bn to
£14bn, making it the biggest year since
records began in 1983.
That increase was helped by a
£5bn order for Typhoon fighters
made by BAE Systems, plus Paveway
missiles from Raytheon, which are
partly made in the UK.
Campaign Against Arms Trade
said the fi gures “exposed the rank
£20,000 and £30,000 this year. Of the
fi rst-timers who had been able to buy,
two-thirds reported having a house-
hold income of more than £40,000.
Miguel Sard, managing director of
Santander Mortgages, said: “It’s clear
that while the aspiration to own a
home is just as strong as in previous
generations, it’s a dream that is look-
ing increasingly out of reach. Without
change, homeownership in the UK is at
risk of becoming the preserve of only
the wealthiest young buyers over the
hypocrisy at the heart of UK foreign
policy. The government claims to
stand for human rights and democ-
racy, but it is arming and supporting
repressive regimes and dictatorships
around the world. ”
Britain’s sales to Saudi Arabia –
believed to be the largest arms buyer
- are the subject of a continuing legal
battle. Ministers have asked the
supreme court to overturn a lower
court’s judgment that some of the
arms sales to Riyadh were conducted
illegally.
The DIT estimates the UK’s share
of the defence export industry to be
around 19%, placing it second for the
fi rst time since 2014, pushing Russia
into third place and comfortably ahead
of fourth-ranked France.
The world leader is the US, which
has a share of around 40%, according
to the British estimates in the annual
statistic s published by the DIT, which
is the licensing authority for arms
exports.
next decade. This report should be a
wake-up call for industry and the gov-
ernment to think more creatively to
keep the homeownership dream alive
for the next generation of fi rst-time
buyers.”
Sard said the average age of a fi rst-
time buyer has increased from 25 to 33
years old in the last two decades, and
40% have already started a family. As a
result, Santander found that the most
sought-after fi rst-time buyer property
is now a three-bedroom house.
The report, The Future of the home-
ownership dream , also called for
the industry and the government to
rethink the mortgage market.
It said the financial authorities
should consider more fl exible lend-
ing aff ordability criteria. It has also
called on the government to lower
stamp duty to incentivise those con-
sidering downsizing the family home
they have outgrown.
Half of the 5,000 non-homeowners
aged 18-40 who were questioned for
the survey said that owning their own
home was one of their top life goals –
more than having children (27%) or
getting married (19%).
Santander found that 42% of
potential fi rst-time buyers had saved
nothing at all towards their first
home. Men had saved twice as much
as women (£11,660 compared with
£5,620), while one in three men and
nearly half of women (48%) had not
saved anything.Young people believe
dream of owning home
is over, bank lender says
UK reclaims place
as second-largest
arms exporter after
2018 sales of £14bn
▲ Workers build Typhoon fi ghters at
BAE Systems in Warton, Lancashire33
Average age of a fi rst-time buyer, up
from 25 two decades ago; 40% now
have already started a family25%
Maximum percentage of 18- to
34-year-olds who will be able to buy
a home by 2026, the bank sugg estsРЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS
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