Children leaving it later to fly the nest is driving a rise in the number of people seeking a bigger home, the findings of a new study suggest.
Children leaving it later to fly the nest is driving a rise in the number of people seeking a bigger home, the findings of a new study suggest.
According to the latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the UK now has 3.3 million people aged between 20 and 34 still living with their parents, the highest total since the statistic was first recorded in 1996.
And the Royal Mail's first Home Movers Study found that more than a fifth (21%) of the parents who had moved house over the last six months had bought somewhere bigger as they expect their children to stay with them until they're in their late 20s or even older.
Nearly half (47%) the home owners questioned said they'd had to wait longer than they wanted for their move. But only 15% of them said the hold-up had been caused by the cost of moving up the property ladder.
More than a third (35%) said their property search had taken longer than expected to find a home which met their needs with a fifth saying they'd wanted to upsize in preparation for having grown-up children living at home.
Strutt & Parker's head of research, Stephanie McMahon, said the growth in multi-generational living was reflected in the property firm's own survey which had found that one in 10 people expected to be living in a household that did not fall into the traditional "2.4 children" bracket by the end of the decade.
She said they expected the trend for "alternative" households to continue growing, driven by financial considerations, increasing numbers of stay-at-home children and more extended families living together.
She said the firm had dubbed the new-style households "The Waltons" – after the 1970s American TV family drama of the same name – adding that finding a flexible property which can be adapted to meet a family's changing needs could prove to be more economical.
McMahon said a so-called "yo-yo house" – which can evolve with families by moving interior walls or using a garage as living space -- was ideal for people who'd found the home they wanted to stay in for life.