NHF: Half of 18 to 30-year-olds 'require parents' help' to buy home

More than half of young people think they will be unable to buy their own home without financial help from their parents, research showed today.

Around 54% of people aged between 18 and 30 said they would need money from friends or relatives to raise the deposit required to buy a property, according to the National Housing Federation.

A fifth of these potential first-time buyers claim they would need up to £10,000 to enable them to get on to the housing ladder, but 28% think they would need up to £20,000, while 8% would need up to £40,000 and 9% would need more.

Only a quarter of those questioned were confident that they would not need any financial help to buy their first home.

The research found that 86% of young people thought they could not currently afford to buy their own property, despite recent house price falls, with 83% saying they thought home ownership was more of a dream than a reality for their generation.

Just over a third of people thought they would have to wait for between five and 10 years before they could get on to the property ladder, while 12% thought it would take up to 20 years for them to be able to afford their own home.

Around 6% of people admitted they did not think they would ever be able to buy a property.

Seven out of 10 people said they would rent from a private landlord until they could buy their own home, while 11% plan to live with their parents and pay them rent, with 8% living with them rent-free.

The Federation is calling on all political parties to commit to building more homes for first-time buyers, blaming the current "crippling shortage" of property for house prices more than doubling during the past decade.

David Orr, chief executive of the Federation, said: "Young people are giving up hope of ever being able to afford their own home and who can blame them?

"The simple truth is we, as a country, have failed to build anywhere like enough homes to meet demand, which has sent house prices rocketing over the last decade and well out of reach of most young people.

"For those without parents with the funds to help them - there's virtually no chance of getting a rung on the property ladder."

He warned that unless the three main parties committed to building significant numbers of affordable homes for rent and sale, an entire generation could be locked out of having their own home.

A Communities and Local Government spokeswoman said: "The Government is investing £7.5 billion for housebuilding over this and next year, including the largest council house-building programme for nearly two decades and the Kickstart scheme to get stalled housing developments back on track.

"We've also taken action to support first-time buyers aspiring to enter the housing market by increasing the opportunities for affordable home ownership through our HomeBuy schemes."

:: YouGov questioned 1,096 people aged between 18 and 30 who do not own their own home during March.