The Bank Of Mum And Dad: Parents Help With First Steps On Property Ladder
WHERE would we be without our parents? Well, nowhere, obviously.
And while mum and dad can sometimes frustrate, irritate and drive us to despair, when it comes to taking those tentative first steps up the property ladder, often it is our parents who lift us up onto the first rung.
New figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal that 46 per cent of first-time buyers under 30 are getting a financial helping hand from relatives, a huge increase on 1995’s figure of 10 per cent.
With an average home now costing seven times the average annual earnings, young people often have no option but to ask their parents for substantial financial help.
Parents in Northern Ireland are the most generous to their children, with 48 per cent of first-time buyers getting a helping hand, while mums and dads in London, where houses are the most costly, rank second, with 44 per cent of fledgling house buyers receiving help.
A CML spokesman warns that the growing involvement by parents in their offspring’s house buying could cause the market to become polarised.
Says he: “The more parents help their children to become homeowners, the higher house prices will be driven, and the more help the next generation of would-be homebuyers will need. The growing tendency for parents and other relatives to help young people become homeowners looks likely to sustain the number of first-time buyers for the foreseeable future.”
Mum and dad, if you’re reading this, I think you are the best parents in the world. By the way, I’ve seen this lovely house with a swimming pool just up the road. And if ever want to see me or the grandkids again…
Posted: 8th, June 2007 | In: Money Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink
