The number of young adults living with their parents has reached its highest level in almost 30 years.
Drawing on Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on living arrangements and rents, alongside the Land Registry UK House Price Index, conveyancing solicitors Bird & Co looked at how many 20 to 34 year olds live with their parents and how this has changed since 1996.
The firm then measured a 10% deposit as a number of months of rent across 316 areas of England and Wales, showing how far the cost of buying has moved beyond the cost of renting.
It found that almost 3.8m 20 to 34 year olds now live at home, the highest number since 1996.
GENDER DIVIDE
Young men are far more likely to be at home than young women, at 35% against 22%.
Bird & Co says this is nothing new.
Its report says: “Men have been more likely than women to live at home throughout the past 30 years, and the difference between the two has stayed about the same size that whole time, with no real sign of widening or closing.
“What has changed is that both groups have become much more likely to live with their parents. Since 1996 the share of young women at home has risen from about 15% to 22%, and the share of young men from about 27% to 35%. Because both went up by a similar amount, the gap between them has barely moved.”
DEPOSIT CHALLENGE
The analysis also found that a 10% deposit equals about two years of rent in most areas, nearing three years in London’s costliest boroughs.
Bird & Co says: “For many young people, staying at home means putting independence on hold in order to save for a deposit. Paying rent and building up a deposit at the same time is difficult, so a lot of them stay put until they have enough to buy.”
Daniel Chard, partner at Bird & Co, adds: “For the majority of first-time buyers, the principal obstacle is not the monthly mortgage payment but raising the deposit.
“When that deposit is equivalent to two years of rent across much of the country, and considerably more in the least affordable areas, it is unsurprising that so many young adults are remaining at home. These are the highest numbers on record, and the cost of buying offers a plausible explanation.”
