Parents paying for children’s home run
HAVING SPOKEN TO A LOT OF FRIENDS I DO THINK IT’S THE NORM FOR PARENTS TO HELP OUT THEIR KIDS BEN TANSWELL
TWO in three parents are now making sacrifices to help their children – or grandchildren – buy a home.
Older generations are increasingly giving up overseas trips and even delaying retirement to help their offspring raise a deposit, newly released data reveals.
Among parents providing financial assistance, 29 per cent are prepared to retire later than planned, while 33 per cent are willing to delay big purchases such as a holiday or new car, the homeloans.com.au data found.
The trend of parents helping their children buy a home had been “decades in the making” thanks to skyrocketing property prices, stagnant wage growth and tighter lending conditions, Will Keall from homeloans.com.au said.
“Some pretty big sacrifices are being made by people wanting to help their kids or grandkids,” Mr Keall said.
With prices continually rising and the required deposit out of reach, Ben Tanswell and his partner Christina were lucky enough to use the equity in their parents’ properties to purchase their first home in Sydney.
“Having spoken to a lot of friends I do think it’s the norm for parents to help out their kids,” Mr Tanswell said.
Mr Tanswell’s mum, April Prestwidge, said she didn’t feel obliged to help her son, but wanted to give him the opportunity to buy without struggling to save for a deposit.