By Charlotte Beugge

The stagnation of the UK housing market is likely to continue this year, according to a report by HSBC. It found that only 12% of Britons are considering buying or selling a home in the first half of this year.

And while understandably more than six out of ten householders aged 55 and over didn't want to move, only 28% of those aged 34 or under were content to stay put in their current property.

If older homeowners don't move then the number of homes on the market could fall and make it even harder for young people to get on the housing ladder.

Most of those interviewed who were under 34 and didn't plan to buy or sell this year said that was because they didn't have a big enough deposit (cited by 29%) or didn't think they'd get a mortgage (15%) or were worried that they might lose their job (14%). Around 10% said they didn’t aspire to owning a home.

Those aged 55 and over who were thinking of selling said that it was because they wanted to downsize often to release the cash built up in their home. Those aged 34 or under who wanted to buy or sell said it was because they wanted to move up the property ladder often because they needed more space.

In London, where unlike most other places in the UK has seen rising prices over the past year, 18% of those interviewed were considering buying or selling in the next six months.

A separate report from Santander says that 3.7 million Brits will buy a new home this year and that saving a deposit is the main barrier to their purchasing a home.