UK’s Wealthy Parents Give Kids a 10 Year Head Start in Housing

Britain’s wealthy parents are passing onto their children a 10-year advantage in buying property، research from the Bank of England showed، adding to concerns about “inheritocracy” in the bid for people to own a home.

The central bank found that deposits are 2 1/2 times bigger، loans are 30% smaller، and the properties cost £15،000 ($19،264) more when younger buyers get help from “the Bank of Mum and Dad” to grab a rung on the property ladder.

Parental help

It takes those without support 10 years longer to buy a property for the same sum snapped up by a 26-year-old with parental help، the research found.

The findings add to evidence about widening wealth inequality in the UK، with eye-watering house prices leaving many of those from poorer backgrounds struggling to move beyond rented accommodation into ownership. Many first-time buyers have been priced out of the market by worsening affordability، leaving the best opportunities to buy to those who inherit wealth.

“The average 26 year old with help paid about £254،000 for their first home،” May Rostrom، who works in the BOE’s Monetary Policy Outlook Division، said in a Bank Underground blog post. “Those with no help waited a decade – until they were 37 – to buy a property for an equivalent sum.

Four year earlier

Those with financial support bought their first homes at 26، four year earlier than those without help، the research showed.

“‘Bank of Mum and Dad borrowers’ are typically less-leveraged and have lower mortgage payments، leaving more leeway for them to save or spend their incomes on other things،” Rostrom said.

She concluded that the support is “substantial” and that receiving gifts to buy property is common، affecting 10% of first-time buyers aged under 45 and 28% of those under 25. The research adds to evidence that receiving help “can affect your entire homeownership trajectory،” Rostrom added.

Affordability for first-time buyers has been worsened by soaring mortgage rates and higher house prices.

English employees can expect to spend 8.3 times their annual earnings to buy a home with the affordability ratio more than doubling since 1997، according to the Office for National Statistics.

Strains are worst in the capital. It is more difficult to buy a house in the most affordable part of London than in the least affordable area in the North East of England.