A strong majority (83%) of young adults in Britain think it is harder to buy a house now than it was in their parents' generation, according to our survey.
With almost two-thirds (63%) of British 18-24 year olds living with their parents, 83% of people in this age group believe it will be more difficult for them to own a home than it was for their parents. 88% of the general public agree with this view.
However, these figures may increase following an announcement by the Financial Services Authority this week which stated that UK mortgage lending rules will become stricter in 2014. This will make it tougher for the four in ten (40%) 18-24 year olds that want to move out of their parents’ homes but cannot afford to.
- Of those 18-24 year olds still living in their parents’ houses, 40% would much rather live away from their parents but do not have the financial means
- Almost half (49%) of 18-24 year olds who live with their parents said they were happy and in no hurry to move away
Top concern
Our poll also reveals that being able to afford to buy or rent a decent property is among the top two concerns of young people, with 46% of Britons aged 18-24 years identifying this as one of their greatest worries.
Although almost half (45%) of young Britons living with their parents think they will move out of their parents’ home within the next two years, over four in ten (43%) do not expect to own their own home until they are over 30, if at all.
- 45% of 18-24 year olds living with their parents believe they will move out of their family house in 1-2 years, compared to a third (33%) who think it will take them 3-5 years to move, and 12% who have no idea
- 38% of 18-24 year olds said they expect to be able to own their own home, either on their own or with someone else, by the time they are 30
- One in five (20%) young adults think this will be true by the time they are 35, compared with 9% who said they expect to own their own home at 40
Almost one in ten (9%) of 18-24 year olds do not ever expect to be able to own their own home.
