Rightmove warned that if the 27% of over-40 trapped renters ever do attain their dream of homeownership, they face the prospect of a reduced-term mortgage of paying off their mortgage into their 70s.
Its rental index, conducted at the beginning of each quarter, revealed that, in addition to trapped renters, 31.4% said they would like to buy, but are putting it off, down from 33.4% in Q3.
Meanwhile, just 13.6% of tenants in the fourth quarter said they are not interested in buying and prefer to rent, down from 14.3% last quarter.
Rightmove also found that renting appears to be turning into a long-term solution for more and more people, with 39% of tenants saying they will still be renting in three years time, up from 31% this time last year.
More than half of tenants are also resigned to their rents increasing even further over the next 12 months, as the supply/demand imbalance gets wider, leaving the long-term buy-to-let investor as the winner in the current market.
Indeed, rental returns are the top motivator for 41% of property investors, compared to 24% at the beginning of 2011, while just one in five are looking for capital growth.
In addition, almost 39% have decided to invest because of the poor performance of other investment classes.
Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “The momentum of the runaway rental train shows little sign of slowing. New tenants are still looking to clamber aboard in their search and are finding a dwindling number of places to rent as existing tenants have limited exit opportunities and stay put.
“The rental journey is the only real option for many and the majority seem resigned to having to pay more. It has to run out of steam soon as the failure of wages to keep pace with rising living costs increases the pressure on tenants’ disposable incomes.”
