Got the keys? Great – just don’t brag about it!
Young people are now as likely to own a home as they are to rent, according to a surprising new report. But, says
Anna Silverman, be careful about sharing your good property news
LAST WEEK, a shocking statistic about the housing market made headlines, and for once it wasn’t predicting that young people will never be able to buy. For the first time in seven years, the number of 25 to 34-yearold property owners have outnumbered renters of the same age group in England. Could it be that the ‘Millennial homeowner’ is no longer an oxymoron?
Except it’s left us with another problem (a social media one, of course; we’re still Millennials after all). We’ve all scrolled past countless ‘Got the keys!’ pictures on Instagram, often featuring beaming couples or solitary selfies in front of a ‘Sold’ sign. Some opt for a shot of keys sprawled across a kitchen surface next to champagne flutes, others give you an unsolicited tour of their three-bed and garden. Ah yes, it’s a double garage, in case we weren’t sure.
Showcasing the place you bought has become the new status symbol, a close cousin of: ‘Some personal news: I’ve been promoted again!’ But the problem with this is how blind it is to the fact we’re still living in the throes of a housing crisis. When it comes to 25 to 34-year-olds, it’s great that 1.37 million have been able to buy. But that still leaves 1.36 million who haven’t.
The think tank Resolution Foundation has found that up to one third of young adults will never buy a house. According to
Fullfact.org, the number of households renting from a private landlord has increased by 1.2 million – meaning 11 million aren’t on the property ladder. So Generation Rent isn’t going anywhere yet.
‘I take it as a personal insult when I see one of those posts,’ says Lola Johnson, 34, who rents a flat in north London. ‘I lump it in with the “I said yes!” or “It’s a boy/ girl!”post in terms of how it makes me feel when I see one of my friends share something like that. It felt like we were all in it together, back in the day, and it only highlights where they are and where I’m not now, because they’re my peers.’
We’ve also got to remember the factors that have played a part in increasing home ownership among young people. Lucian Cook, head of UK residential research at Savills estate agency, says the Government’s Help to Buy scheme has had an impact – but more significant is the ‘Bank of Mum & Dad’. Among my own friends, half have been able to buy, while, for the other half, homeownership is very much a distant dream – hence the hatred of those ‘Got the keys!’ shots. That’s one of the reasons I decided not to post such a picture when we bought our home – and several friends I’ve spoken to recently have said the same.
Of course, we should be able to share our achievements. But if we’re going to share our happy news, perhaps we all need to be transparent about how we’ve managed to get on to the housing ladder. If you didn’t inherit some money or rely on the Bank of Mum & Dad, well go on, tell us how you did do it.