Rent and mortgage spending has increased 4.2% year-on-year in June, the fourth month that growth has slowed.
According to Barclays Property Insights, percentage growth in spending on rent and mortgages has been varying so far this year hitting 2% in January, jumping to 7.7% in February before falling to 5.4% in March.
In April the percentage growth in spending on rent and mortgages stood at 5.2% in April, came to 4.6% in May and 4.3% in June.
The report added that consumer confidence in the UK housing market fell three points to 27% as the Bank of England maintained the base rate at 4.25%.
However, concerns around the barriers to home ownership are easing with 39% of consumers citing property prices as one of the major barriers in June, a fall of six points.
Around 19% pointed to monthly mortgage payments, a decrease of three points, as lenders continue to cut mortgage rates.
How to get your first-time buyer clients mortgage ready
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Over half of renters believe homeownership would be impossible without the help of financial incentives and homebuying support schemes.
However, awareness of shared ownership remains low, with nearly a third saying that they havent heard of the scheme.
Those that are familiar with the scheme say it has benefits, with a third saying shared ownerhsip to getting onto the propety ladder compared to a traditional mortgages.
Nearly a fifth said that these types of schemes offer a solution for first-time buyers struggling to get onto the housing ladder.
Looking at renters, almost 22% of renters are currently saving for a house deposit with the group aiming to save around £30,000 in 4.8 years on average.
To meet the target, renters will need to save over £500 per month would need to be saved, but renters tends to put away less than half the monthly goal, menaing that the estiamted timeline could be “over-optimistic”.
Nearly half of tenants believe it is more expensive to be a renter than a mortgage-payer, and renters are more than three times more likely to say they struggle with housing costs compared to homeowners.
However, nearly a fifth of renters have previously owned a home, including 40% of later life renters over the age of 55.
Jatin Patel, head of mortgages, savings and insurance at Barclays, said: “Our latest insights reflect a housing market in transition. While lower mortgage rates are providing some relief, affordability remains a challenge.
“Our findings underscore the importance of tailored solutions to address the diverse needs of today’s prospective homeowners. While half of renters view homeownership as unattainable without financial support schemes, there remains a significant gap in awareness of initiatives like Shared Ownership, particularly among younger adults.
“Bridging this knowledge gap is crucial to empowering first-time buyers and fostering greater accessibility to the property market.”
Will Hobbs, managing director, Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management, said: “Data on the economy are telling a particularly incoherent story at the moment. We maintain that the starting point for the UK’s economy is better than widely acknowledged. Household balance sheets are more robust in aggregate and the corporate sector is potentially well placed to benefit from the incoming industrial revolution in machine learning and generative AI.
“The news of the world around us remains unsettling, but it is important to remember that the economy is capable of dancing to a quite different tune. Blind optimism ultimately outperforms sober pessimism when it comes to the economy over longer periods of time, primarily because the march of technological change.”
