Help for the clipped wing generation

It was interesting to read in the media yesterday reports of new research by the charity Shelter, which found nearly two million members of a ‘clipped wing generation’.

These are adult children (age 20 to 34) who still live at home with mum and/or dad, unable to afford their own property.

Shelter took data from the Census and found 1.94m people in England in this age group who still live with their parents.

The charity believes this accounts for one quarter of all young adults in employment, before commissioning research to discover that nearly half continue to live with their parents because they cannot afford to buy or rent their own home.

What help is there for members of this clipped wing generation?

I should start by saying that living at home with your folks isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Many continue to live at home after college or university through choice, even if this choice is also accompanied by necessity.

It is very, very hard work to save enough money for a deposit on a first property.

Here in the GU6 (Cranleigh) postcode area, for example, the average property price over the past three months has been £314,862.

A quick look on Rightmove finds the cheapest one bed flat in the village with an asking price of £150,000.

That means hard work to save a sufficient deposit; say at least £20,000 to secure a mortgage with an affordable interest rate.

And the goalposts continue to move as first-time buyers save for a deposit.

This graph from Mouseprice demonstrates just how much house prices have grown locally and nationally since 1995.

This means the longer it takes you to save for a deposit, the bigger the savings target.

In many cases, with other spending demands on your monthly earnings, the only way to get onto the housing ladder is with parental assistance.

Our research for the Boom! Demographics Are Destiny movie suggests many people in this post-war generation feel a level of obligation to help their adult children onto the property ladder, due to their fortunate financial position.

Regardless of the answer (saving or a helping hand from the bank of mum and dad), a Financial Plan to keep you on track is essential.

Knowing how much you need to save, by when and how much of your income you can divert towards this goal are basic first steps for members of the clipped wing generation who want to fly.

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