Realty Check: 79% of Europeans Find it Difficult to Buy a First Home

A report from the ING International Survey on Homes and Mortgages showed that four in five Europeans find it difficult to purchase their first home.

The ratio represents 79 percent of ING's surveyed population, which comprised of nearly 15,000 people from across 15 countries, according to the Express and Star.  Of the 15 countries, Luxembourg tops the list with 94 percent of the respondents agreeing that first time home buyers will face a challenging time purchasing a home.  At the second spot is the U.K. with 89 percent, wherein nearly nine in ten people finds it increasingly difficult for first timers to enter the housing market. Other countries in the top five list, are Turkey and Spain both with 88 percent, while Belgium had 87 percent.

Meanwhile, the ING study also showed that 89% percent of Australians, as well as 72 percent of Americans, also thinks it difficult to purchase a first home. 

Ian Bright, a senior economist at ING, stated in the report that consumers across the 15 countries, including the U.S. and Australia, thinks that first-time home owners are "at risk of having the door to home ownership slammed in their face." 

Bright added, "The burgeoning economic recovery across the continent comes into play here. This will improve people's lives in many ways but the ING International Survey shows something needs to be done if the next generation is to benefit from bricks and mortar."

Aside from getting the consumers viewpoint about entering the housing market, the ING study also cited the rise of home price growth across the surveyed countries.  Luxembourg posted a 7 percent home price growth, while the U.K., Spain and Belgium posted increases of 8 percent, 1.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.  Turkey, on the other hand, experienced a 16.7 percent home price increase.

Bright told IBTimes UK that the ING survey results were worrying, especially with rising percentages in home price increases in almost all of the 15 countries.  He added, "That is certainly one of the strongest findings of the survey."

Other countries included in the ING International Survey on Homes and Mortgages are Italy, Netherlands, Romania, France, Poland, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic.