Young homeowners 'worried about negative equity'

Nearly one in four young homeowners are worried about ending up in negative equity as a result of falling property prices, research shows today.

Around 23% of people aged between 24 and 34 said they were concerned about owing more on their home than it was worth, with 16% of people admitting they had made regular enquiries about their property's value during the past three months.

Just over half of young homeowners said they planned to stay put and ride out the current housing market downturn, and 13% said they had cancelled plans to move until the outlook became clearer, according to financial website Fool.co.uk.

But 13% of young people who had not previously planned to buy a home said they were now considering doing so in a bid to take advantage of the current state of the market.

David Kuo, head of personal finance at Fool.co.uk, said: "Young people who have not experienced previous recessions are understandably worried about the property market.

"They include both those who have just bought their first house and those who want to get on the ladder, but whose hopes are being dashed by over-cautious lenders.

"It is important to provide assistance to first-time buyers because they are the lifeblood of a healthy property market. So Fool.co.uk is calling on the Government to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers for properties up to £190,000."

Meanwhile Heartwood Wealth Management said one in three parents planned to help their children get on to the property ladder, handing over an average of £22,401 each.

Around 5.5 million parents have already provided some support, giving their children just over £20,000 towards the cost of buying a home.

One in 10 parents said they considered the money to be a loan, but 68% said they did not expect any of the money to be returned.

:: Fool.co.uk questioned 1,000 people during February and Canvasse Opinion questioned 1,503 people between February 29 and March 5 for Heartwood Wealth Management.