We visit Love Lane in Birmingham to find out if young people still aspire to own their own homes

It's a significant milestone for many new couples - moving into the first place they both call home. It's a time of hope but also a challenging period. Recent years have seen trends change in how people approach this pivotal life moment. I speak to Salek Miah, Managing Director of Ashmore Lettings & Sales Ltd. who shares his observations.

He says: “So this generation is becoming more rental. If you look at the stats, and I've written about this extensively in my blog, the Walsall Property Blog, the numbers and the stats are there, and it speaks for itself.

"You know, people, the Gen Z, millennials at the moment, getting onto the property ladder is not an aspiration. You know, that's something that the previous generation was kind of fixated upon, you know, getting onto that property ladder. So, you know, this generation is more interested in their iPhones, in their iPads, and, you know, having a couple of sun-drenched holidays per year.”

While trends may see many opt to rent rather than buy in the current economic climate, there is still hope for normal people to get themselves onto the property ladder. Salek says: “We in Britain, we love property, you know, we love to get onto that property ladder.

"So I think that's not going to go away entirely. So in terms of getting onto the property ladder, I think what a lot of young people that I'm finding is that they just don't know, you know, they're not prepared. For example, one of the things I think that the younger generation could do, or anybody actually trying to get onto the property ladder for the first time, is, you know, just get your credit file in check. Make sure you take care of that.”

Unfortunately Love Lane here in Birmingham isn't quite as picturesque as the name might lead us to believe. It is however in the heart of one of Birmingham's many educational hubs. Do the great young minds that roam these campuses see home ownership as a realistic prospect in the coming years?

Daniel says: “So at the moment, as a student, I am renting my place, but hopefully later in the future, once I get a stable job, I'd be able to mortgage a house.”

Oskar says: “I mean, like, I would like to get a mortgage. I would definitely want to own a home. I wouldn't want to rent it, but I am doing medicine, so my starting salary would be really low. So I don't know if I will qualify for any sort of mortgage.”