The research revealed that financial limitations are causing under 25-year-olds to delay moving out of the family home by three years and getting married by four and a half years, compared to older generations. However, with growing acceptance of debt, and despite escalating property prices, under 25-year-olds anticipate buying their first home almost a year ahead of their grandparents.
As part of its 3GB campaign, exploring how finances impact the experiences of generations, Engage Mutual questioned a GB representative sample of 2,300 adults about their aspirations and experiences. The results reveal that, whilst under 25-year-olds may be struggling to move on in life, they are accepting debt to get a foot on the property ladder.
Key Findings
Moving Out Later
One third (34%) of Britons under 25 anticipate waiting until they are at least 24 before being able afford to move out of their parents’ home. Today’s retirees fled the nest three years earlier at the age of 21.
More than eight in ten (84%) retirees moved out of their parents’ home by the time they were 25, in contrast just two in three (67%) of under 25 year olds already have or are anticipating moving out of home before they are 25.
Delaying Marriage
The younger generation are putting off marriage for financial reasons; under 25s are expecting to be able to afford marriage at 27.7, three and a half years later than their grandparent’s wed (at 23.2).
85 per cent of today’s retirees were married by the time they were 30. Today, just 55 per cent of under 25 year olds have married or anticipate being able to afford to marry before they are 30.
Moving into Property
Embracing the property market, under 25 year olds expect to be able to afford to buy their first home at 28 – nine months before their grandparents set foot on the property ladder.
Just over one in two (58%) retirees bought their first home by the time they were 30. Under 25s are more optimistic, with 61 percent already having bought or anticipating buying a first home before they are 30.
Changing Times for Scotland
The Scots have seen the greatest transformation in their experiences of home buying. Retired generations in Scotland waited until they were 32, longer than any other region, to buy their first home. Today’s young Scots are the most optimistic, expecting to buy a home by the age of 27.
Karl Elliott, 3GB spokesperson for Engage Mutual, said: “Young people today face a very different financial landscape than today’s retirees faced forty years ago. With consumer debt at an all-time high, 125 per cent mortgages readily available and credit at our fingertips, today’s young generation has become more accustomed to living with debt. As a result, attitudes to financial milestones are changing.
“While it is encouraging to see that today’s under-25s are not put off by ever-increasing house prices, it is important that they are as prepared as possible when it comes to savings. By putting away a little and often over the long-term, both parents and off-spring can cope better with the financial milestones to come.”
