The BBC reports:
The "golden age of home ownership" is over, says a report by a distinguished housing organisation. But could the British ever learn to love renting?
It is as much a national obsession as football, pets and complaining about the weather.
For millions, the ideal of buying, owning and making a hefty profit from one's own home has gone from a dream to an expectation, and fuelled an insatiable demand for TV property programmes.
But in the post-credit crunch world, reality is slipping behind the fantasy of ever-rising prices and a mortgage for all.
According to a report by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the era of the owner-occupier could be in decline, with millions facing a lifetime as tenants rather than freeholders.
It warns that while 100,000 new UK homes are expected to be built in 2010, the number of new households each year for at least the next 11 years is expected to be more than double that.
It is as much a national obsession as football, pets and complaining about the weather.
For millions, the ideal of buying, owning and making a hefty profit from one's own home has gone from a dream to an expectation, and fuelled an insatiable demand for TV property programmes.
But in the post-credit crunch world, reality is slipping behind the fantasy of ever-rising prices and a mortgage for all.
According to a report by the Chartered Institute of Housing, the era of the owner-occupier could be in decline, with millions facing a lifetime as tenants rather than freeholders.
It warns that while 100,000 new UK homes are expected to be built in 2010, the number of new households each year for at least the next 11 years is expected to be more than double that.
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