As it becomes increasingly difficult for unmarried young people to buy homes in the UK, a growing number of so-called “boomerang generations” are returning to their parents’ homes after they become adults.
Citing a new report released by the British Building Association (BSA), the BBC recently reported that it takes two high-income earners to cover mortgage payments, with first-time homebuyers facing a difficult situation for 70 years.
Jess Waring-Hugh, a 32-year-old office worker, said she is saving hard to get a house but decided to go back into her parents’ house because there is no institutional support for single. “It feels strange to go back to my childhood room,” she said.
The BBC reported that Hugh’s situation is not an exception, but a normal one. According to recent statistics, the most common lifestyle among adults aged 18-34 used to be living as a couple with children, but now “living with parents” is the most common.
Furthermore, more and more adult children are receiving financial support from their parents, according to the BBC. According to a statistic, half of homebuyers in their 20s receive an average of £25,000 from their parents. Analysts say parents use the money left as retirement funds to pay for their children’s housing.
The BBC pointed out that such a “dark” reality has emerged as wage growth has not kept up with the rate of increase in housing prices over the past 20 years. In addition to rising rents and regulations on loans, even if you have a good job, you are not guaranteed to get a house.
Mortgage rates in the UK have risen sharply over the past 20 months. The two-year fixed rate, which was once below 2%, averaged 6.86 percent last year, the BBC reported.
“I should be able to live alone without being a millionaire, and the real estate market seems to be assuming everyone is a high-income couple,” a 49-year-old musician told the BBC on condition of anonymity.
Young people are moving the national economy, but in the most basic housing, young people are not buying at high prices. The slump in the housing market also affects the economy. The government should come up with a variety of measures that help young people.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
