54% of home-owning parents ‘expect to help their adult children buy a home’

A quarter (25%) of home-owning parents with adult children who are not on the property ladder feel guilty that they cannot provide more support, according to a survey.

Half (50%) wish they could provide more financial support than they can and nearly six in 10 (59%) worry about their children’s chances of owning a property in the future, according to property website HomeOwners Alliance.

More than half (54%) of homeowners with adult children have or expect to help their children financially to buy a home.

But among this group, the majority of parents (56%) expect this to affect their own financial position.

Among those who expect to support their children, 28% say this will mean dipping into savings or investments.

One in 11 (9%) parents lending support said they may need to delay their retirement and a similar proportion (9%) said they may need to downsize their home.

Paula Higgins, chief executive, Homeowners Alliance, said: “While we all know that the bank of mum and dad is supporting many people’s first steps onto the housing ladder, what our survey shows is the emotional and financial strain it puts on families in today’s Britain…

“Beyond the emotional burden, there is a worrying picture emerging of the impact this is having on older parents’ life. Our survey found that many people were worried that helping may leave them financially short.”

Opinium surveyed more than 2,000 people across the UK in January for the research.