Britain must curb its obsession with home ownership and look to new ways of meeting housing demands, according to experts at the Housing Forum national conference last month (April). Speakers from across the housing industry warned that with the average age of a first time buyer now being 37 and the average house deposit nearing £32,000, the next government urgently needed to do more to change public perception of home ownership. Jeffrey Adams, chairman of the Housing Forum and group chief executive of United House , said that the future of the housing industry was uncertain: “Building for social rent is becoming increasingly difficult. Home ownership is unaffordable for many and new forms of funding for housing investment are needed now more than ever.” <br>