Parents help buy 27% of homes

THE ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ will be behind more than one in four house sales this year, research suggests.

Some 27 per cent of buyers will receive help from friends or family, up from 2 per cent in 2017, according to forecasts from Legal and General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

But there are signs parents are starting to feel the strain as the average contribution has fallen from £21,600 last year to a projected £18,000 in 2018.

Across the UK, the report predicts that cash sums stumped up by parents will make them the equivalent of a £5.7billion mortgage lender.

It said the overall value of the transactions will rise 5 per cent on last year to £81.7billion for 316,600 family members.

Nigel Wilson, of Legal and General, said: ‘The Bank of Mum and Dad remains a prime mover in the UK housing market. However, it’s clear that households are feeling the pinch as contributions have reduced.’