According to a new study
New research commissioned by Gocompare.com Money reveals that the average age parents expect their children to fledge the nest is 25 but, just over a quarter (26 per cent), don’t think their kids will leave home until over the age of 26.
Gocompare.com asked parents of about their children’s prospects for home ownership. Generally, the outlook is quite pessimistic with parents estimating that their children would be 32 years old before getting their foot on the property ladder, and 40 per cent are worried that their children will never be in a position to buy their own home.
A fifth of parents think their children have a better chance of inheriting a home than buying one.
While many first-time buyers rely on the Bank of Mum and Dad to help towards the cost of their home, almost a quarter (24 per cent) of parents said that they were unable to offer any financial help at all, and just over half (51 per cent) said they would like to help, but doing so would leave them short of savings. Just 19 per cent said they could comfortably afford to help their children buy a home.
In order to help increase their prospects of home ownership, over a third (34 per cent) of parents would suggest that their children move to a cheaper area, while 9 per cent said they would go as far as to encourage their kids to emigrate and buy abroad.
While the outlook for their children’s home ownership prospects might be bleak, when one door closes, another opens. Nearly half (48 per cent) thought their children should go and see the world before worrying about buying a home while 21 per cent would tell their children to rent instead of buying. However, 23 per cent of parents admitted that knowing their children may never be able to afford their own home left them feeling angry.
Matt Sanders, from Gocompare.com Money said, “Our survey suggests that young adults are living at home with their parents far longer than previous generations. There are a variety of explanations why many twenty-somethings are not financially independent from their parents and continue to live under the same roof – sometimes well into adulthood.
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