People who do not own a home were most likely to say they consider the down payment or their credit score to be hindrances, according to a survey by the financial site Bankrate. However, more than one-third of the respondents said they were not yet ready to own a home.

Thirty-five percent of respondents said they are not interested in owning a home at the present time. Crissinda Ponder, summarizing the survey results for Bankrate's February Money Pulse survey, says these people may consider homeownership to be risky after witnessing the effects of the Great Recession.

Younger respondents were more likely to say they do not want to own a home yet. Forty-four percent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 gave this response, compared to 28 percent of the 30-49 age group. The share rose slightly, to 29 percent, for the 50-64 age group.

Among the survey respondents, 57 percent said they already own a home while 37 percent said they are renting. The remaining 5 percent had an alternate living arrangement, such as staying with parents or friends.

Older people were more likely to own their home. The homeownership share among respondents rose with each age group, from a low of 26 percent in the 18-29 group to a high of 80 percent in the 50-64 age group. The rental share dropped from a high of 60 percent in the youngest age group to 16 percent in the oldest age group. Thirteen percent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 had an alternate living arrangement, and the share was between 2 and 4 percent for the remaining age groups.

Twenty-nine percent of all respondents said they did not think they would be able to afford a down payment. This included 26 percent of the 18-29 age group, 31 percent of the 30-49 age group, and 33 percent of the 50-64 age group.

Respondents gave a wide range of answers when asked about the ideal size of their down payment. Eighteen percent said they would like to put down 11 to 20 percent of the sales price, while 17 percent said 6 to 10 percent. Nine percent of respondents said they would like to put down 1 to 5 percent.

Ponder says this last option is more common than many people might realize, since it is possible to get a conventional loan with 3 percent down and a loan backed by the Federal Housing Authority with a down payment of 3.5 percent. Several down payment assistance programs are also available to help people buy a home. However, many buyers might seek to make a 20 percent down payment in order to avoid paying private mortgage interest.

Eight percent of respondents said they would like to put even more down on a home purchase, favoring a down payment of 20 to 30 percent. Seven percent wanted to make a down payment of 31 to 50 percent, while 6 percent said they would like to pay more than half the home's asking price at the outset. Only 4 percent said they would prefer to buy a home without putting any money down.

Sixteen percent of respondents said they didn't think their credit score was good enough to qualify for a mortgage. This reason was given by 15 percent of the 18-29 age group and 20 percent of the two older age groups.

Twenty-one percent gave a different reason for not owning a home. This category included people who didn't know why they haven't considered homeownership, refused to answer, or gave a reason other than the top three highlighted by the survey.

Ponder suggests that people can find out more about their options for buying a home from a nonprofit housing counseling agency. It is also helpful to know your credit score and have a solid understanding of your finances before purchasing a home.

Princeton Survey Research conducted the survey for Bankrate, questioning a nationally representative sample of 2,002 adults in the continental United States. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.