Parents help children get on property ladder

Parents expect to give their children almost £24,000 to help them get a first foothold on the property ladder, a report reveals today.

With spiralling house prices putting even a modest home out of the reach of most young Londoners, their families are steeling themselves to help out substantially - even if it means going into debt.

The report, carried out by Mori for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, shows that more than half of parents of young adults aged 18 to 29 think they will have to make a "substantial financial contribution" to help them buy their first home.

It comes as homelessness charity Shelter revealed the number of firsttime buyers is at its lowest since records began 30 years ago. It also found that in London and the South-East this year, average mortgage repayments will rise to 20.8 per cent of average incomes.

The average contribution from parents will be £17,000 but in London and the South, where prices are highest and shortages of affordable homes most acute, this figure rises to just under £24,000.

Richard Best, Director of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said: "Parents who are owner-occupiers are coming to terms with the fact that high house prices are not necessarily good news after all. The value of their own property may have risen but their children will find it increasingly difficult to follow them up the home ownership ladder unless they are prepared to help with a substantial gift or loan.

"Our own research has shown just how unaffordable starter homes have become across the South of England in relation to local pay for young adults."

The survey also showed:

The report comes amid rising concern for first-time buyers. Property prices far outstrip average salaries, pushing firsttime buyers in London down from 69,000 in 2002 to only 49,000 in 2003. Their average