To wonder how the next generation will buy a house

[macaronitoni]

Surely there needs to be a massive overhaul of the system. A new build home with two bedrooms on a new development nearby is £315k. Not London. Midlands. Who’s going to be buying that? Too small for a family with more than one DC but way out of budget for most first time buyers.

Without significant family help, how will today’s children and young people manage to buy a house? Something has to change!

Makes me sad. How are my ds's to buy. We've saved. They know about deposits. But realistically how are young people going to get said deposit. It won't change though.

To be fair, anyone who goes into "the arts" has to be realistic about their earning potential. I do think parents and schools should make that clear to young people when they encourage them to "choose what they love" and caveat it with "... but be realistic and make sure it will give you job security and affordability for the lifestyle you aspire to."

I remember hearing a conversation between my son and some of his friends, age 16, where one girl said "I don't care if I'm on minimum wage so long as I'm doing something I love". That young lady, is now pursuing an arts course, so it'll be interesting to see how she gets on in life. Another 17yo I know, from a family with no surplus cash to supplement a uni loan, is applying for arts courses in London. She says she knows it will "be expensive" but I'm wondering how she will ever hold her head above water financially. My point is that many young people are very naive about how to secure a succesful financial future for themselves. They are encouraged by schools to pursue their dreams, and the universities happily take their money. Many come out the other end in massive debt, with uncompetitive credentials, and the economy misses out on talent that might have been better directed elsewhere.

@layzinaboot
Personally I think a world without classical musicians isn't worth living in. You (and the current Government) clearly disagree.

I'm fucked if I'm going to tell my eldest that he shouldn't have gone to the conservatoire, because he'd earn more money being a banker estate agent.

a banker OR AN estate agent.

Too annoyed to type properly.

Most of people going to do arts at uni will not become next Bethoven or Bacon. They are more likely to become your friendly local barista than classical artists to be known for centuries or even artist to be able to afford mortgage.
There is a place for arts and there is a chance to make money, but not if everyone who goes to uni but doesn't probably really want to but has to because "ehat eill you be without a uni😭" joins in on arts courses. For most it should just stay a hobby.

I do think parents and schools should make that clear to young people when they encourage them to "choose what they love" and caveat it with "... but be realistic and make sure it will give you job security and affordability for the lifestyle you aspire to."

I agree and have done this as my DC have chosen subjects to study at school and insisted they do the hard academics (they are bright and get good grades) rather than a collection of soft subjects that restrict their options. It's very much 'you keep your options open with these subjects but restrict them with that subject' but I have been told by other adults they should get a free choice. How is it really a free choice if they aren't told the consequences?

I agree we need classical musicians, and other people in "the arts" - but many more young people are pursuing arts courses than will ever work in the arts - our universities have had a demand-based supply model for too long. And for those that do aspire to work in the arts, they need to accept that it may not be as financially secure as other professions.

Dont a lot of people buy a flat first instead of a 'starter house's? And a two bed house is big enough for 2 dc. Where I was brought up it was common to have 5 dc squashed into a 3 bed terrace (2 beds and a box room). In other countries (and parts of the uk with tenements) living in apartments is completely normal. But in a lot of the uk its seen as a 'right' to buy a house.

That's not to say I think buying anything is easy. Unless the economy really changes then people will really need to buy in couples (I know some people who bought as friends for example) even if they arent part of a couple. They will need substantial family help with a deposit or to live with parents for longer to build up their deposit. I do think the government could help with rules on second homes especially from foreign investors, in lots of countries they make it much harder to buy property if you're not a resident and we don't seem to have the same rules.

Never mind next generation lots in my generation can’t afford to buy either. All of my friends have only afforded it due to help from parents. We don’t have that help, I could be 50 or 60 when I may get an inheritance to help by then I’m too old for a mortgage term that would be long enough.

If only 🙄

House prices locally to me have been unaffordable for years. We are both well educated and had reasonable salaries for the area - until I was made redundant. We looked at new build and even with family help, we couldn’t afford. Now I’m too old to even consider getting a mortgage.

I think it depends where you live. South-east, yes, unaffordable (but having said that, was shocked recently to find out that friend's 25 year old DD is buying £500k house with boyfriend - no idea how and not through inheritance and parental help, just saved hard) but East Midlands, not a problem.

"The Boomers" will die off (I'm a boomer, so don't mean any offense)...

But...their properties will be bought up by the wealthy and added to their property portfolios...rental income then goes back into purchasing more property. Very few of the general population will be home owners.

Gary Stevenson, Economist/former Trader, explains this on his YouTube Channel GarysEconomics.

Locally house prices are OK so if they want to stay around here they could feasibly save for a deposit to buy in their 20s (this is what my 19 year old is doing) or we/grandparents/g grandparents may help. Definitely couldn't do it in a more expensive part of the country.

@Namechangedatheist
Lazyinaboot speaks sense. Every teen at school should be told:

to "choose what they love" and caveat it with "... but be realistic and make sure it will give you job security and affordability for the lifestyle you aspire to."

How you can argue against that, is odd.

Ds1 and his partner have just bought a house

its a very, very small old house but its under 250k and is in a city in the south

dd wanted to be an actress but she currently works as an estate agent in lettings based in london…the rent (as most people know) in london is obscene, people are desperate to get somewhere to live and she is letting houses just from the pictures!

It's not even the next generation - it's the current generations that are struggling too. It's completely unsustainable

There’s no such thing really as a ‘starter house’ any more. What used to be starter houses are now marketed as family homes, with couples in flats.

Also, I feel like it's important to make sure laments about house prices being out of reach to most are not uk wide issue.
It's been in news for years how young people can't afford to buy and quite a few of the younger people I have spoken to, generally given up on the thought of buying because "but I can't save 20k and making 40k, the news are right".
Problem is that they didn't even look into how much they actually needed, why would they when all news are telling them they can't, and that it was more like 4-6k and 25k wage (3 years ago, I think it's like 7k and 27k?)....

I would urge people lamenting prices to make sure they don't actually discourage their kids from exploring their options based on quite south centred news.

Lol, that's so true. Being childfree, I'm leaving my house in trust to my late DP's DGD. She's only 7, but at least there's a good chance she might own a property before she's 30. Unless I live to over 90, or it all goes on care home fees.

I just checked the price of 2-bed new build flats here: £600k, and it's 50 miles and over an hour by train to London. Two-bed flats over shops on the high street are £425k.

It's ridiculous. Renting's no better, £1,300-£1,400 a month for 2-bed flats. The kids will all be living at home until their GPs die off.

Where in the country do you live? Maybe it’s different here, but I don’t know anyone who rents and I don’t know anyone whose parents rent either, everyone owns houses. Inheritances are pretty common too, we’ve already had some from grandparents in recent years.

Well if they just stopped buying avocados and take away coffees they would have a deposit saved in no time! Joking obviously. I agree, something needs to change. I find it ridiculous that someone can't get a mortgage even if they can prove they've been paying the same amount (or more) in rent for several years.

Save save save, I saved for my mortgage from the age of 18 when I lived at home. When I graduated at 21, I paid my parents bord and saved as I wanted to move out and not rent. So me and my then fiancé (now husband) got a mortgage at 24 (that was 9 years ago).
From what I gather on Mumsnet 18 year olds can't work they need to focus on their studies etc. Where as my parents saved from the age of 16 to get a mortgage at 20. So their expectations were for me and my sibling to do the same. They taught us a lot about finances and saving growing up as every penny was accounted for

Even 30 years ago down here in Surrey, although we all bought young, we all started in tiny one bedroom flats, shared between two, and worked up. No-one went into a two bed for starters. We're on our fourth house, in the same area, just moved up every 2 then 5 then 8 years. Been in our final house 20 years.

If you parents don't own or can't help you you won't be able to own