Are things harder for millennials?

[squidwid]

Many of my friends don't own houses and they're in their 30s. They did everything that society asked of them and still they're not making headway.

I know so many elderly people that live in 4 bedroom homes worth £400k plus. Obviously there is nothing wrong with that but families should be able to afford those houses so things can move on. No one can afford to buy them...

This is so true.

The gap between salary and house price is fucked up.

A huge part of the problem is that foreign investors were allowed to use UK property as a safe investment, which drove property prices up. If you were a Russian/Arab millionaire in the 1990s, it made no sense to put the money in stocks and shares, or keep it in a bank account, but it made loads of sense to buy a few flats in UK that will definitely rise in value and provide a nice rental income while they do. Some countries ban foreign ownership of land and you know what their housing is more affordable for their citizens…

The whole ‘buy to let’ mortgages scandal was another problem. For a long while if you had good equity, it was cost effective to borrow money and buy a house with that 100% borrowed money to rent out. Then the renter pays back the mortgage and the borrower ends up with a huge profit and free house when the mortgage is paid off.

Meanwhile we’ve had a succession of governments who have allowed new developments to be towers of tiny flats / crammed together terraced townhouses, instead of the semi-detached family houses with gardens that families thrive in.

It’s almost like the country has been totally mismanaged for my entire lifetime 🤨

If the super rich continue to be allowed to buy up vast amounts of property as investment, and UK wages continue to stagnate, it will never be affordable to buy a house.

Millennials could give up avocado and espressos for a decade and still wouldn’t be able to afford a house.

Some millennials could give up avocado and all the things that the previous generations didn't have and then they could afford a house - sone people are crap at managing money compared to others and sone are crap at the type of sacrifice - what no holiday !- that others consider normal

Sweeping statements are not helpful and disprovable

What's true is that on average fewer millennial couples can buy a house together than in previous recent generations due to the shocking rise in house prices

What is also true is that the general cost of rent and standard of rented accommodation is also worse than in previous generations

I still don’t know any boomer parents who want their single daughter or son with them until their early thirties in order to save a house deposit!

Wedding or not, the problem is that you need to save £30-50k at a minimum for a deposit. And you have to hope your folks live in an area suitable for your work. And of course you’ve found someone to marry who has also been living at home and saving their half of the deposit…

I actually disagree that a factory worker grandad and sahm typically would have been able to buy a house - unless they benefitted from the council house scandal

Certainly my baker granddad and sahm granny never could
My parents could only buy because they both worked

What seems to be forgotten is that being able to buy a house was never the norm and that a third the population lived in council housing

People on lower wages didn't expect to own their own home and many pensioners today are struggling with no home of their own to fall back on

What's true is that on average fewer millennial couples can buy a house together than in previous recent generations due to the shocking rise in house prices

Combined with wage stagnation and failure to keep up with inflation.

Let me rephrase then. Millennials could be amazing at money management , give up avocados and espressos for a decade and still not be able to save enough for a deposit.

@midgemadgemodge but there was more social housing for these people in those days.

I grew up in long term rented accomodation as my dad has an agricultural tenancy. Like his father before him, his plan was to apply for a small council bungalow on retirement. Well that was the theory, all the council bungalows have now been sold off in his vilalge so I have no idea what we are going to do with him as nether my brother or I can afford to help him out and there is no way he will want come a live in my inner London flat.

The selling off of council accomodation was a one time only massive transfer of wealth and it has fucked up housing secruity for a generation of working class people. It is enraging.

Of course, millennials and Gen Z are much worse off. The Bank of England is concerned about wage inflation but they have allowed asset prices (houses) to sky-rocket by printing money.

When we looked round our house to buy, the sellers said the increase in house price was just ‘paper money’. I could have punched them. As first-time buyers, it was real money to us.

The seven-fold increase in value is being paid for by your children/grandchildren who save up their real earnings and have children late to pay for it. Maybe they get an inheritance to help them with a deposit but it is ‘real money’ and it is impoverishing them.

The other issue is it prevents people from investing money in pensions and other savings. People have to pump every spare penny in to thier house. Which then perpeturates the whle doom spiral as when they become homeowners they will support any policy that keeps house prices high.

I think sometimes it’s forgotten that boomers and gen x are struggling much the same as millennials are. Yes, many of them will own a home but equally many do not. They still have to rent if they can’t buy, they are still stagnant with earnings and are still battling the financial crisis we are now in. Just because they’re however many years older doesn’t make it any easier

Yes there was more social housing

Instead of pity parties and blame throwing focus on fighting for more social housing

Some Gen X particularly got fucked over on pensions. They typically joined the workplace as DB pensions were being cut back or closed and NEST, the compulary workplace scheme only came in to force a few years ago. So there are a lot of 40 and 50 somethings out there with really poor pension provision.

We didn't live with them until our thirties, mostly we were in our twenties.

@Porridgeislife
A deposit for how much? 😂
A basic two bed terrace didn't cost that much to buy, let alone the deposit.

Yes same here. Southeast so not a cheap area. Where are these millennials who haven’t bought houses yet?

It’s Gen Z I feel more sorry for, not millennials. Us millennials have benefitted from the low interest rates over the last 10 or so years. Most of us have managed to get houses as long as we prioritised them. Gen Z are facing higher house prices and higher interest rates and higher university loans. They have it worse than we have.

I was born in 1990 so technically a millennial?
I don't feel it's been too hard for me. DP and I bought a house back in 2016, sold it in 2021 so 5 years later and benefitted from house prices in our area rising. When we moved Rishi had agreed the stamp duty holiday so we had spare money to do our new house up. We also got an amazing mortgage on 1.64% interest.

Job wise DH and I earn 62k combined (I'm part time) neither in particularly senior roles.

What does kill is is childcare costs!

I do think it's going to be much harder for those born in late 90s/early 00's than it's been for us and I feel very bad for my colleagues who are only 5+ years younger than me who are really struggling to save right now. I think it will put people back 10 years. But given that people will still need to have children at the same age as previously it'll result in a generation of less wealthy, sadly.

I'd prefer not to say exactly where but largely within in the south west - most in fairly nice areas, not incredibly cheap (although there are VERY affordable areas within about half a hour of where I live). A few scattered all over the UK and the world.

But even if you look at this https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23234033
A couple with a £30k deposit (far from unachievable by your 30s if you've (depending on whether you went to uni) been working 10-15 years by then) given that if you both opened a H2B isa you'd have only have to have saved £12k each with the govt putting in the extra £6k - even better if parents do put something towards that, who can afford a £800 a month mortgage - again affordable for most if both partners are working....and you can afford to buy a 2 bed in nearly three quarters of the country.

I'm obviously not saying everyone can do it - circumstances vary and I appreciate that it's not as easy as saying 'move away' if all your friends and family live in one area of the country. Just disagreeing with the narrative that it's impossible for everyone.

I bought my house in 1977 so I am one of those who were "better off then". Mortgage Interest rates were 12% at that time and I was refused a Mortgage on my first choice because the buiding society manager didn't think I could afford it - it was £10,000 , but my salary was only around £1900 per year before tax and National Insurance even with my husbands salary we could only get a morgage of £8,000 so we bought a different house.
Yes things were cheaper the, apart for electronics but salaries were much lower and interest rates much much higher, a lot of furniture and white goods were bought 2nd hand it was a struggle for many of us for quite a few years.

I am 37 and would not have been able to buy or even rent without my DH. We are in London. I have single friends of similar ages, all work, but will likely still be living at home forever or getting a crappy room share somewhere. It's a depressing fact. My aunt was 19 and had a basic job and she was able to get a flat in the 90's. Things are definitely harder now. What with cost of living, impact of coronavirus etc as well....

Yes. Its harder. Only wish as a demographic they would vote more. Hypocritical since i didnt vote at that age. They are easily ignored if they are not going to be a vote winner.

People buying flats aged 19 in the 1990s was not commonplace

And those that did - many then lost those homes during the recession mid 90s

I was right glad I hadn't tried to buy then !