Shropshire Star

Homeowners are falling off the property ladder as the credit crunch bites, according to a survey.

The study found fears that house prices will continue to fall has led to almost one in five home movers considering the option of cashing in and moving into rented accommodation.

And 14 per cent of those looking to move say money worries are forcing them to think about dropping out of the property market and into rented homes so they can free up some much needed cash.

Online change of address service iammoving.com surveyed 1100 people who were in the process of moving home and found that, although 32 per cent would always prefer to remain homeowners, they would consider renting if they could not find a suitable house to buy straight away and if this avoided losing an interested buyer.

The number of owner-occupiers in England fell by a record 83,0001 in 2007 as more people rented their homes, according to figures from Halifax released last month.

Simon Preston, chairman of iammoving.com, said: “You expect people to consider renting when the market is falling because there is a chance to make money, but 18 per cent is a high figure.

“The 14 per cent who indicated they might move to rented accommodation because they have money worries will find it hard to get back onto the ladder if they spend too much of their equity.”

The survey also shows that nine per cent were thinking of renting as an option as their relationship was breaking up, seven per cent wanted to get off the property ladder because they were planning a move abroad and three per cent did not want the responsibility of owning a house.

The survey found that 16 per cent of those responding were already renting.