First time buyers 'could get older'

23-Apr-2007

The age at which first time buyers first break into the property market with homeowner status is set to rise over the next two decades, a study from the Centre of Future Studies with Alliance & Leicester predicts.

First time buyers are increasingly delaying making major life changes including buying a home, getting married and having children, the study suggests, instead spending longer as 'adkids' - adult children who stay living at home.

But once they get their foot on the property ladder, the outlook for newly inducted homeowners is a richly varied one, the study found, as people prepare to inhabit a larger number of homes over their lifetimes than ever before.

Nevertheless, as they enter their middle years, many homeowners will become what the study dubs the 'sandwich' generation, it is claimed, facing continuing demands on their finances from both grown-up children and elderly parents seeking support with accommodation costs.

But in between these two tight financial spots, there are rosier periods to look forward to, the study suggests, among the 'nine lives' of the modern-day household, including renting with friends, co-habiting with a partner and setting up a family home.

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