64% of Britons satisfied with their housing situation – but 6 in 10 renters believe they will never be able to afford their own home

Ipsos has looked at how people perceive their own and their country’s housing situation around the world as part of the first Ipsos Housing Monitor, an extensive 30-country survey.

Key findings include: 

• Overall happiness with personal housing situation: In Great Britain, 64% of people are happy with their current housing situation. This is slightly higher than the global average of 61%. 
• Renters less happy with their housing situation: Globally, 47% of renters say they are happy with their current housing situation compared to 71% of homeowners. While in all markets, owners are happier than renters, in countries with stronger rights for tenants, the gap in satisfaction is smaller.
• The rights of renters: Of all countries surveyed, people in Great Britain are the third most likely to say that it is too easy for landlords to take advantage of tenants (70% agree, tied with Argentina, and behind Ireland at 73% and South Africa at 71%). This is compared with a global average of 59%. 
• Government’s role in housing: In Great Britain, just 16% agree that there isn’t much that the government can do to deal with the country’s housing problems, compared to a global average of 29%. Six in ten (61%) Britons agree that we don’t pay enough attention to the issue of housing in Great Britain, the same as the global average. 
• Housing aspirations: In Great Britain, 76% of renters would like to own their own home, but six in ten (60%) believe that they will never be able to afford one. This is compared with 71% of renters globally who would like to purchase a property, and 56% who don’t believe that this is a possibility for them. 75% of Britons believe that everyone has a right to own their own home, lower than the global average of 78%.
• People feel it is harder to buy a home now than previously: In Great Britain, 65% overall think it was/is harder for people their age to buy or rent a home to settle down than it was for their parents’ generation, rising to 71% of those aged under 35. Globally, 67% agree with this statement, rising to 70% of under 35s. However, older age groups are almost as likely to say the same thing (64% for 50–74-year-olds).
• However, people do not feel rising house prices are a good thing: In Great Britain, 23% of people perceive rising house prices to be good for them personally, slightly higher than the global average of 19%. Even among those who own their property outright this only rises to 23% across all countries surveyed.
• People think their country’s housing is on wrong track: Just 19% of Britons believe that housing is on the right track, with 62% saying it is on the wrong track. This is significantly lower than the global average of 28% expressing happiness with the way things are going, and 52% thinking their country’s housing is on the wrong track. There are big differences by country and region, with people in Asia generally more positive, and Europeans more likely to say housing is on the wrong track.
• Britain’s ideal home is a detached home in a rural area: When asked about their ideal home, one in three (33%) Britons would prefer a detached home in a rural area, followed closely by 31% who would prefer a detached home in the suburbs. Globally, culture plays a strong role in shaping people’s idea of the ideal home. In Asia and LATAM, people are more likely to want a detached house in the city, while in many western countries, people want a rural house. However, in Italy, Spain, South Korea and Singapore people prefer apartment living.
• Location, location, location: In Great Britain, people feel that a good location (50%), value for money (41%), and a low crime rate (36%) are the top characteristics they want in a home. Globally, on average value for money (47%) and a good location (45%) are seen as most important.

Technical note: 

• Ipsos interviewed 22,279 people online between November 22 and December 6, 2024, in 29 countries and between Friday December 20 and Friday January 3, 2025 in New Zealand. Quotas were set to ensure representativeness and data have been weighted to the known population profile of each country. The sample consists of approximately 1,000 individuals each in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.S., and 500 individuals each in Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand, and Türkiye. The sample in India consists of approximately 2,200 individuals, of whom approximately 1,800 were interviewed face-to-face and 400 were interviewed online.
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.