47% of UK adults aged 18 to 54 aspire to live in a three bedroom house with a garden in 15 years’ time.

Legal & General’s latest Home Truths research study in conjunction with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has looked at home ownership aspirations and the future of homeownership in the UK.

As well as desiring three bedroom properties, 78% of 18 to 54 year olds surveyed dreamed of having their own garden, while 63% were keen to have their own parking space and 50% felt that easy access to public transport would be a key factor in their dream home.

For older age groups (over 55), being in close proximity to good healthcare facilities, having a private garden and having a good sense of community in the local area are considered as the most important features for their future home that they aspire to own in 15 years’ time.

This news comes after Legal & General’s ‘Last Time Buyer’ report which found that there are 3.3 million UK homeowners aged 55+ looking to downsize their property. The typical ‘Last Time Buyer’ lives in a four bed house but wants a bed bed property, which could unlock valuable housing stock for those aspiring to own a home with three or more bedrooms.

Stephen Smith, director of Legal & General Mortgage Club & Housing, said: “Our Home Truths study reveals a generation of homeowners staring over the garden fence at the larger properties owned by Last Time Buyers, many of whom are staring right back wishing it was easier for them to downsize! ‘Last Time Buyers’, for example, typically occupy larger properties, many of which are the type of property that under 55s aspire to own.

“There are 3.3m ‘Last Time Buyers’ looking to downsize which could unlock housing supply for those looking for three-bed properties. Unfortunately, many have been unable to do so due to a lack of suitable homes for them to move to. Our research therefore demonstrates the importance of not only ramping up supply, but also ensuring that more properties are built of the right size and in the right places. This could effectively re-shuffle housing stock and make it easier for people to find their ideal home.

“As well as limiting the amount of choice in the market, the current lack of supply is also driving up house prices. This issue is affecting first-time buyers in particular, as unlike second-steppers, they aren’t able to transfer equity built up on their last property, which would have increased in value alongside house price inflation. Instead, first-time buyers are having to save money quickly so that house prices don’t rise faster than they can save. Saving for a deposit can be an arduous and lengthy task, and the sheer scale of house price inflation in recent years is causing people to postpone buying a house until later in life.

“This trend is likely to worsen unless more homes are built to keep up with the increasing surplus in demand. Only around 118,000 homes were built last year, which is well below the 250,000 new homes needed per year to bring balance to the market. The Government needs to double its efforts to boost housebuilding sooner rather than later so that people across the market are able to achieve their homeownership dreams.”