When I was a little girl and I was asked to picture myself in the future, I often imagined myself living as an adult in a spacious bright and modern house, the kids playing with the dogs in the big garden and my husband returning from work in a big fancy car. I envisaged this place to be my home, my haven of peace, joy and togetherness. Twenty years on, things haven’t exactly turned out that way. One of the reasons is that I am part of Generation Y, also described by my US colleagues as generation ‘Why Me’. Gen Y is a generation (born 19980-1994) that has come of age in world far different from the idealised future that we and our parents envisioned. Faced with a harsh jobless economy, adulthood things to-do like marriage, babies and house ownership suddenly seem out of reach and are consequently delayed.

There is no doubt that I have been chastened by the collapse of the housing market and recent price hikes in the London area. I have to face the harsh reality that the state of the UK economy has delayed my chance to jump on the property ladder for the unforeseeable future.

Generally, with increasing concerns about inflation, recession and unemployment, housing distress has been the harsh reality for many consumers around the world.  According to GfK Roper Reports® Worldwide, 12% of consumers in the UK have experienced housing distress – loss of home, difficulty paying rent or mortgage, difficulty buying or selling a home. This number even increases to 14% on a global scale. Some markets are affected more than others of course; more than 1 in 5 consumers have experienced housing distress in Argentina, Australia, India, Korea, Mexico and Poland whereas it is less of a problem in Japan for instance.

But why is it so important to own a place called home?

Home ownership is often a key aspiration for many of us and becomes more important the more affluent we become. Our home is the most expensive purchase that we’ll probably make in our lifetime and is therefore quite an emotional investment too. And as the world’s population grows and crowds together further through urbanisation, the desire for a private, secure haven of one’s own will grow more pronounced.  Indeed, in a world of growing uncertainty and instability, the idea of the home as a fortress and protective cocoon will develop and evolve.  And with the economy having forced consumers to stay in more instead of going out, having a place called ‘home’ is increasingly important.

One of the GfK Roper Consulting 12 trends, part of our GfK Roper Consulting TrendKey 3.1 product, looks specifically at this ‘House to Home’ aspiration. 4 out of 5 consumers in the UK agree that they enjoy spending a lot of free time at home and an equal amount of UK consumers agree that their home is a place where they can relax and get away from it all.  In addition to that, we also express a strong desire to entertain guests at home and have fun with friends and families in our own four walls.

But home is not only a haven of peace for many of us, it is also a reflection of our personal values – in the UK 63% of consumers say their home is a reflection of who they are and what they value.  When we look at the housing market in London for instance, it becomes quickly apparent that our personal values can be powerful decision-making elements when picking our next home. Take Camden Town for instance. Camden Town is situated  in Northwest London and well known for its alternative culture. It’s not as upmarket as other regions such as Hampstead or as close to the city as Soho for example but house prices in Camden Town have reached new peaks. Camden Town is very desirable not only because of its great location but also because of its values - the alternative and hip lifestyle, it represents.

It short, consumers aspire to owning a home for various reasons but we all have in common that we all desire a place that we call home, a place with which we have a strong emotional bond. For myself, and despite the current economic situation, I haven’t given up on owning such a place one day. It will be my haven of peace, joy and togetherness, and I am not prepared to make any compromises on this dream, at least not yet.

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Tags: Consumer Trends, Economy, Gfk Roper Consulting, Gfk Roper Reports® Worldwide, housing market, Personal Values, UK