First-time buyers move home to build deposits

Single first-time buyers and couples can significantly cut the time it takes to save for a deposit by moving back in with their parents.

Moving back home cuts four years off saving a deposit for single first time buyers, and 33 years in London, according to residential estate agent, Hamptons International.
  


Its Time to Save Index shows that a single first-time buyer in England and Wales could reduce the time to save for a deposit from 13 years to nine years.

An average couple in England and Wales could save for a 15% deposit in a year and a half, twice as fast as if they lived independently. 

More young adults are now moving back in to, or remaining in, their family homes to save up than in previous years.  

Some 6.6 million young adults aged 15-34 are living rent free with family or friends in 2015 compared 
to 5.6 million in 2000.   

Fionnuala Earley, residential research director at Hamptons, said that higher rent relative to income in London means that buyers in the capital benefit most from staying with parents

"While slower house price growth and higher wages made affordability bit better in 2015, first-time buyers still face high barriers to achieving homeownership because of the size of the deposit required.

"Being able to buy a home within a reasonable amount of time means they need to find ways to save more of their income.

"For many this means moving back in with mum and dad and saving on the biggest expense they face – rent.”