Insurance company Aviva has said that there will be one million more young people living at home with their parents in the next decade, due primarily to a lack of affordable housing.
By 2025, there is predicted to be 3.8 million people between the ages of 21 and 34 years old living at home. This represents a third more young peoplethan there are currently.
Aviva’s data assumes that house prices will keep rising at the same rate that they have increased in the last decade, and predicts that there will be 2.2 million households containing more than one family in them. Currently, there are 1.5 million households like this.
First-time buyers often struggle to afford a deposit on a house, meaning that even if they would be able to afford mortgage repayments, they cannot get onto the property ladder in the first place. This results in them needing to live with parents, or rent, which can make it even harder to save money to buy a house.
Lindsey Rix, managing director of personal lines at Aviva UK, said: “Multigenerational living is often seen as a necessity rather than a choice, particularly when adults are forced to move back in with family to help save for long-term goals like buying their own house.
“But rather than being an inconvenience, our report shows it is often a positive experience, with shared living costs reducing financial strain and the added benefit of constant company.”
Of course, saving money isn’t the only advantage that can be gained when living with parents. Having more company, and other people to carry out chores, can help make life more enjoyable.
However, many people will also crave more space and independence, which you will not get too much when living with parents, so this needs to be taken into consideration too.