25 Mar 2016
Record number of young adults living with their parents
A quarter of young adults in the UK now live with their parents, according to new statistics.
More than 3.3 million adults between the ages of 20 and 34 are still living in their childhood home, 26% of that age group.
The number has increased by a quarter, or 669,000 people, since 1996 as more and more young people find it difficult to fly the nest.
Rising house prices
The Office for National Statistics, which published the figures, said young men were more likely to live at home than women. One in three men live with their parents, compared with one in five women.
The report's authors said the main reason for this is that on average, women form partnerships with men older than themselves. Thus more women than men in this age group were married or cohabiting.
Another factor is stagnant wages alongside strong property prices. Between 1971 and 1999, the amount paid for a house by first time buyers with a mortgage fluctuated between two and three times annual income.
However, after 2000, this ratio increased rapidly, driven by soaring house prices, reaching a peak of more than 4.5 times annual incomes in 2004 and has remained fairly stable since then.
Young people stretching themselves
First time buyers are having to stretch themselves further than ever to get on the property ladder - with the majority now taking mortgages over more than 25 year terms.
Statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show that 58% of young purchasers took out a mortgage lasting longer than quarter of a century at the end of last year.
This compares with just 32% of first time buyers a decade ago in 2006.
Help for first time buyers
However, financial help is at hand for first time buyers in Scotland.
Aberdein Considine has launched a major new campaign to help young people onto the property ladder. Between February 1st and April 30th 2016, first time buyers are being given a 50% discount on their legal fees, saving them hundreds of pounds.
For more information about the 50% discount, call 0333 00 66 333 or click here.