Over the past few years, home ownership has become less affordable for young people in the UK. The Social Mobility Commission reported on the role of family support in home ownership in March 2017.
Key Findings
Trends in home ownership for first time buyers:
- The proportion of young people looking to own a home has fallen significantly in the UK over the past twenty years.
- Those that do become homeowners rely increasingly on borrowing from family.
- Young people are buying their first property later than previous generations , For example, while in 1990 39% of 20-24 year old purchased their own homes, only just over 10% managed to do so in 2015.
Recent patterns of parental or family help with home ownership:
- In England, the most popular form of financial help from family is a gift or loan from parents (34.1%) and the second most common form of help was inherited money, with 9.6%.
- Comparing first time buyers who receive and do not receive parental help, first time buyers in England receiving money or a loan from their parents could buy at a younger age than those who did not receive such help (with a difference of some 2.6 years).
Trends in parental help over the past two decades:
- Until recently, the proportion of first time buyers in England receiving money or loans from parents had increased from 20 to 30%. However, the current figure is 34.1%, an historic high.