More people than ever before want to be home-owners in the long term, according to a consumer opinion survey undertaken by YouGov for the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

85% of people cited home-ownership as the tenure they hoped to be living in a decade from now. The CML has asked the same questions about home-ownership aspirations periodically since 1975. The last time the survey was undertaken, in 2007, the proportion who expected to be home-owners in 10 years’ time was 84%.

However, over the short term the desire for home-ownership has dipped a little. 76% of those surveyed saw home-ownership as their ideal tenure in two years’ time – down from 78% last time the survey was undertaken in 2007. This primarily reflects a much lower short-term appetite (42%) for home-ownership among adults aged 18 to 24 – although this is also the age group with the highest ten-year home-ownership aspirations (88%).

The CML says it is highly likely that this reflects younger people’s lifestyle choices, favouring more flexibility and mobility in the short term, as well as a realistic assessment of the difficulty of entering the housing market under current affordability conditions.

CML director general Michael Coogan, said: “It is crystal clear that most people see home-ownership as their tenure of choice over the long term. But the unintended consequence of regulatory change is that it is going to be permanently tougher for people – especially young people – to fulfil that aspiration in the future