The Vital Role of Parents in Property Buying

In recent weeks we’ve looked at many surveys in different parts of the property sector and one of the common themes is the difficulty young people face in buying a property. Organisations such as Shelter have called on more efforts by the government to address issues within the rental market while it’s also being suggested that young people are being forced to stay home for much longer than they would prefer.

Figures released by the Bank of Scotland this week are now stating that the majority of parents are now fully aware that they will need to provide assistance if their children are to stand any chance of getting onto the property ladder.

The findings show that 55% of those surveyed believe it to be essential that they offer a financial hand in this type of situation but the numbers of prospective property purchasers seeking that help has risen dramatically.

The survey concentrated on those between the ages of 18 and 34 and it found that while around 61% were looking for home buying aid from their parents in the 1980’s, that figure had shot up to 84% in the present day. Additionally, it was also found that 30% of young people were receiving aid from their parents to pay rent as opposed to 8% some thirty years ago.

“Much has been said about the bank of mum and dad in relation to the cost of getting on the housing ladder, but it is clear Scottish young adults rely on financial support from their parents for a lot more than this,” said Greg Coughlan, head of savings at Bank of Scotland.

While that quote may mention Scotland specifically, the survey took in 1500 young adults from across the UK so it’s clear that this is a nationwide issue. Aside from buying a first property, those surveyed said that they were also looking for parental aid to pay for other essentials such as a car and university fees.

A separate poll carried out by Post Office Mortgages looked to underline how keen young people were to get onto the property ladder. The survey said that 36% of males and 32% of females aged between 18 and 34 were hopeful of buying a property in the near future.

“All first-time buyers need to make sure they don’t compromise on getting the right mortgage to help them get on the property ladder,” said Mike Cook head of mortgages at the post office.

Mr Cook also went on to suggest that FTB’s should also look at saving a 10% deposit but that is precisely the problem that is seeing those prospective purchasers look to their parents for financial aid in the first place.