Lender says first time buyers lean heavily on families to bag first mortgage

A survey of 2,000 adults by lender Together sheds light on parental help for first time buyers.

It shows that a fifth of millennials had to ask their family for the deposit for their first house versus just 11 per cent of baby boomers.

And a fifth of millennials reportedly moved back in with parents to help save for a deposit -  compared to just four per cent of boomers when they were young.

Some 45 per cent of hard-up millennials wish they'd been able to get on the property ladder sooner when prices weren’t as steep; and 19 per cent of those millennials who’ve managed to get on the ladder advise other FTB’s to ‘hold onto their property and pass it onto younger generations’.

Meanwhile 52 per cent of. baby boomers admit they don’t have any property regrets given the notably easier and cheaper task of getting on the ladder 50 years ago.

Alan Davison, Director of Customer Sales at Together, says: “‘When I was your age, I’d already bought a house’. If a millennial had a pound for every time they had heard this phrase from a parent, relative or older colleague, they’d probably have enough money to purchase a property.

“Or, they might if house prices were still at the levels they were in the 1970s and 1980s when their parents took their first steps onto the property ladder.

“For the baby boomer generation, many of whom would have first bought when the market was very different and arguably easier to access, there is little need for regret. This is understandably quite different from millennial first-time buyers today, who are facing an incredibly difficult market stalked by high inflation and looming interest rate decisions.

“Since 1974, when Together’s founder first lent on a property mortgage, the average house price has shot up from £8,915 to £284,950. Even when adjusted due to inflation, that equates to a startling rise of 158 per cent.

“With this cost pressure front of mind, we’re seeing first time buyers of the 1970’s do what they can to help today’s first-time buyers get on and then cling to the ladder. Indeed, many of today’s first time buyers aim to do so with a key priority of ownership being to pass down this valuable asset to future generations.”