Almost 3.8 million young adults aged 20 to 34 are living with their parents, the highest figure since records began in 1996, according to new analysis by conveyancing solicitors Bird & Co.
The research points to the cost of a deposit, now equivalent to around two years of rent across much of the country, as a likely key barrier to moving out.
The shift over the past three decades is pronounced. In 1996, approximately 2.7 million 20 to 34 year olds lived with their parents, roughly one in five. That figure has since risen by more than 40%, an additional million people, and now stands at close to three in ten.
The trend cannot be explained by population growth alone. The number of 20 to 34 year olds in the UK has increased by less than 4% since 1996, while the number remaining in the family home has grown more than ten times as quickly. Had young adults continued to leave home at the rate seen in the 1990s, approximately one million fewer would still be living with their parents today.
The data also reveals a clear gender divide. Among men aged 20 to 34, 35% remain in the parental home, compared with 22% of women in the same age bracket, leaving young men over 50% more likely than women to be living with their parents.
The disparity is long established. Men have consistently outnumbered women in the family home across the last three decades, and the distance between the sexes has shifted little over that period.
Both figures have nonetheless climbed steeply since the mid-1990s, rising from roughly 15% to 22% among women and from about 27% to 35% among men.
To identify one potential reason for the figures, Bird & Co measured the cost of a deposit against the cost of renting across 316 local authorities in England and Wales. In some major cities, a 10% deposit is equivalent to between 18 and 24 months of rent. Across all areas, the typical figure rises to around 28 months, more than two years of rent.
Significantly, the pressure extends well beyond the capital. Although the least affordable areas are all in London, where a deposit can approach three years of rent, the same barrier is felt in towns and cities throughout England and Wales.
Daniel Chard, partner at Bird & Co, said: "For the majority of first-time buyers, the principal obstacle is not the monthly mortgage payment but raising the deposit. When that deposit is equivalent to two years of rent across much of the country, and considerably more in the least affordable areas, it is unsurprising that so many young adults are remaining at home. These are the highest numbers on record, and the cost of buying offers a plausible explanation."
