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...

They are - because most millennials already have multiple kids by the time they can get a mortgage.

My dad rattles around by himself in a 3 bed semi detached house (that he has owned outright for over 20 years) in an expensive area whilst my brother, wife and his three kids live in tiny two bed terrace council property.

I doubt it's ever crossed his mind to downsize so he can help my brother and his family out.

Why give up his home for someone else ?
I mean how often do people just give up what they own to others who feel themselves more deserving?

I the 60s and 70s most children shared rooms so a 2 bed was a starter home for those with a family

If you're smart with money when you're young and have the privilege of being able to live at home in college and uni to save like mad then you can buy much more easily.

If you move out for uni and get stuck in the rent trap or if you aren't in a position to live at home in the first place then you're snookered. You're forced into paying absurd rent and can never save. It's totally unfair.

I was lucky, had part time jobs from leaving school and saved like crazy while living at home which allowed me to buy my first house when I was 22. Other than the obvious roof over my head I didn't get any cash handouts from parents, no crazy inheritances etc. The house was ex council, a total shit tip in a less than desirable area. I have renovated it slowly over the last 4 years and it's now worth £120k more than when I bought it.

I was very, very lucky in more ways than one.

It's a mixture of family circumstances and whether you're committed to saving money as early as possible I think.

Why on earth should he? If your brother’s house is overcrowded the council needs to upgrade him to a bigger house.

Most millennials? I really don’t think so. Everyone I know bought houses before having kids and now we all have houses and kids as we got the starter homes in our twenties, had kids early thirties and now mid thirties are on to our second houses. The majority of millennials are in their thirties and many of us have houses already.

I mean a three bed semi is hardly a mansion with multiple unused rooms and it’s been your dads home for years. Your brother is an adult and has chosen to have three kids whilst living in a tiny two bed. I find it surprising and a little sad that you’d expect your aging parent to give up their home they’ve lived in for decades and uproot their lives to fund their adult children rather than expecting them to take responsibility for their own decisions and choices.

You must have a fairly privileged set of friends.

You are the same age as I am and I also have a privileged set of friends who mostly own their own home; however if I look at my entire year at school; most of them don’t actually own a home yet, despite the majority of them having multiple children. My friends were mostly quite career focused and had degrees/well paying jobs, but this isn’t reflective of my generation at large.

The average age to buy your first home is 33.

I dont have a privileged set of friends and they are in the same position as PP. We all got houses before having children, around our mid twenties.

33 is really late for my friend group, I'd be getting a house next year! I've had a house since I was 22 and I'm married now with a toddler, both since getting my house.

In the North of England.

My first home purchase was a 2 bed end terrace - we moved in with a second hand bed - borrowed sofa and managed without luxuries like a washing machine or freezer
holidays were camping and we shared a very ancient Citroen Diane which broke down a lot

Millennials - those born from 1981 - 1995 or so..... It just depends where you live. The house where my mother grew up (rented of course in those days as not that many home owners around) costs about £80k today near Sunderland. My father born near Durham - here is one on the same road - £185,000 https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132808043#/?channel=RES_BUY

My parents bought with 2 professinoal full time salaries and put off babies for at least 8 years after marriage to buy a house in Newcastle. We similarly bought with 2 full time salaries before we had children. My married children who have their own children now did the same. Of course not everyone can do so.

It's all academic.
Even yesteryear, house prices were expensive, even beyond the reach of most ordinary people back in the day.
Nothing to do with comprehension,or lack of.
However, if you want to feel that you're hard done by then no amount of arguing will help with that.
Goodnight.

Hardly. There is reams and reams of research and news about how house prices have massively outstripped wage growth which has affected affordability in real terms.

Unless you live under a rock, you’re just being obtuse.

If it was normal for your friends to have saved for a deposit by their early to mid 20s, then they are privileged (not necessarily having things handed to them; but they are certainly more wealthy than most!)

Statistically your friendship group are unusual. Our group is similar - all from working class background (“first in my family to go to uni” types) but all got better than average jobs

I'd be interested to know whether success is still 'passed down' for want of a better expression. In statistical terms that is.

I'd imagine that in decades past it would've been much harder to escape a working class background and it certainly seemed like fathers often passed their trade on to their sons etc, but I'm not so sure nowadays.

I feel like a lot of mc kids aren't as hungry for the money. I'm sure I read somewhere that a lot of millennials or Gen Z (forget which) don't tend to chase careers as much and settle for 'jobs' nowadays.

The greatest escape of working class happened in the 60/70 when assisted places and grammar schools lifted the brightest out

I feel like today's situation is even more profound. Average trade salary is currently £10k above average graduate salary and office workers in general earn less than tradespeople.

It would be interesting.

My dads parents were poor, rural, with a large family. My dad is the only one of his numerous siblings to have worked for more than a very short period of time. My sister and I are the only two cousins on that side (out of many!) to hold down secure jobs; one cousin does work but it’s always short-term interspaced with unemployment. The rest are long term unemployed. One of my cousins briefly went to uni; but dropped out and has been unemployed for a decade. None of my cousins children seem to be likely to have a “career”

My mums side were slightly more wealthy but still very, very working class. All my cousins on my mums side work; mostly in “decent” jobs (tertiary industries)

I still find it hard to classify where we sit, socio-economically. We identify as working class; but I bet all of my dads side and many of my mums side would see us as middle class. However, being brought up working class does have a big impact on our attitudes.

I feel like my daughter and one of my cousins kids are probably considered “middle class” by ”working class” people; but “working class” by “middle class” people.

I always had aspirations to go to uni for a career despite the fact that it wasn’t the norm for my family. My sister and cousins had less lofty ambitions. I don’t have a particularly good job (I’m a teacher) but it’s certainly a career, and fairly well paid (I’m in Scotland so my salary is £48k) My daughter is still really young but the jobs she is interested in are more towards the career side of things. Partners family are similar to mine in terms of economics.

It’s a bit like the statistic that 80% of homes in the slums of India have a television. They can save for a TV because they get instant gratification and it’s affordable to get something fairly fast; but it’s very difficult to be motivated to save for 5-10 years for a mortgage.

Given that Boomers and Xers have parents who were born in the 1920s-1940s it's not really surprising that they achieved a better standard of living than their parents is it? There was quite a shift in living conditions from 1931(when my dad was born) and 1971 (when I was born) - we had electricity at home and an indoor toilet for a start.

No, it’s not only about those things, but it is partially about those things. By cutting things that give instant gratification out; people on mid range salaries could eventually get a mortgage - but it would take a long, long time. And why live your life miserably? I know had we not been very fortunate to get a home when we did (we got ours really cheap and did it up slowly) then we would probably have given up because house prices increased at a ridiculous rate and our salaries stagnated/went down.

I agree with your general point about house prices being too high and wages too low but a Starbucks coffee is what £3.50 or so? I’ve googled how many working days there are in a year out of curiosity and added in a sandwich/drink for lunch at £6 every day and it actually works out at just under £2.5k over the year which is mad. Plus if your annual holiday was another 2k you could actually save a fair bit by cutting out just these things.