The struggles of young adults trying to save for a first home or being unable to afford rent has seen as many as 2.5million return to live with their parents, a new survey has revealed.
And many parents see their children move back home with a partner in tow in order to help save towards a deposit.
Cheap rent to help save
The research by Churchill Home Insurance says that a quarter of couples who move in with a parent have done so specifically to save money for their own home. And it seems that the parents are helping and taking a sympathetic approach, with an average of rent for children of just £115.60, over £800 less than the UK’s average rental figure.
Most welcome the chance to spend more time with their children and help them save, but 34% reported that a child plus partner moving back ended in tears. Not helping with the housework was the biggest cause of grief, and 11% felt their children were treating their parents’ house like a hotel.
But with 12% of children going back ‘home’ even after graduating from university and a further 12% saying they did so because they could not afford the rent, there’s a serious problem of people struggling to get onto the property ladder.
First-time buyers getting older
The average age of a first-time buyer is 31, increasing the prospects of children staying in the nest rather than flying from it. What are the answers? Joint mortgages, which allow parents to buy a property with a child, are one.
And as well being ‘landlords in law’, parents can become financial institutions of their own – although figures show ‘the Bank of Mum and Dad’ may not be open to all. Recent research has shown that parental ability to lend money to their children is increasingly dependent on their own property collateral, with three out of five under-35s getting financial help from their parents.
However there is hope in the shape of the Help To Buy scheme, which was recently extended until 2023. And half of mortgage lenders say they will offer 40-year mortgages that could help first-time buyers get a foot on the property ladder.
