Parents paying out over property price hikes

Figures compiled by first-time buyer specialist FirstRungNow show the older generation are having to dig deep to ensure their children can get their first home, potentially undermining their own financial security and pushing up the prospect of debt-laden parents, reports Press Association.

Seven in ten of those asked said they expected they would have to contribute to their child’s first home, with many acknowledging this would require working on into later life.

The majority of parents said they anticipated their kids becoming financially independent by the age of 23, although the additional costs of rising energy prices and council tax bills could even mean parents paying out further into their dotage.

FirstRungNow managing director Helen Adams, of, said: “The current generation of first-time buyers not only have high property prices to deal with, there are also large numbers of young people leaving university with significant levels of debt.

“The result is that young people feel they just can’t afford to buy a house, when the reality is there are a range of options open to them.”

The average owed by under-25s seeking help from the Consumer Credit Counseling Service has soared in recent years, up from just under £12,000 in 2003 to around £15,000 in 2005.