End of the bachelor pad as men struggle to buy

IT WAS once considered a rite of passage for young men who had flown the nest and wanted to enjoy the single life undisturbed.

However, the traditional bachelor pad may be on its way out, after figures showed a growing number of men doubting their ability to get a foot on the property ladder without a partner’s help.

Research by Halifax, the mortgage lender, found that nearly half of 18 to 35-yearolds are relying on a partner to help them get on to the property ladder.

Men were twice as likely than women to say that not being able to buy with someone else is a barrier to getting on the property ladder, suggesting that bachelor pads are dying out. About 18 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women thought they would need to buy a property jointly or carry on renting.

The rapid increase in house prices has far outstripped young people’s wages, which have remained relatively stagnant in real terms since the 2008 financial crisis.

Earlier this year the average first-time buyer deposit reached £32,899, a sum higher than the average annual wage. Overall a lack of income was seen as the biggest barrier for young people getting on the property ladder, with 55 per cent of men blaming their salaries, compared with 70 per cent of women. House prices are now so high in relation to wages that nearly half of first-time buyers said they would buy with a partner, if they had not done so already.

Martin Ellis, a housing economist at Halifax, said: “It’s not difficult to see why so many young people are now waiting for a partner to take their first step onto the property ladder.

“With many people trying to fund day-to-day living while saving for a deposit may not even be able to imagine raising this amount of cash on top of all their regular outgoings, first-time buyers in the UK are still on average £651 a year better off buying their home compared to renting.”