Bank of Mum and Dad gets busier

THE coronavirus crisis has made home buyers even more reliant on the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ to raise a deposit.

A survey by insurance giant Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has found almost one in four purchases this year will be backed by parents, family and friends.

This is up from just under one in five (19pc) last year, with almost one in four (24pc) borrowers saying they are more dependent on the financial support of loved ones since the pandemic began.

Mortgage lenders have rushed to pull loans to those with small deposits. Bank of Mum and Dad ‘lenders’ will hand out an average £20,000 towards deposits.

Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson said the figure ‘remains a symptom of our broken housing market’.