No more flying the nest: 800,000 graduates are stuck at home and more young people than before the credit crunch can't afford to move out, say new figures
Ollie Gillman for MalOnline
Almost 800,000 young adults are stuck living with their parents despite having university degrees, with more 'failed fledglings' returning to the nest since before the credit crunch, new figures show.
A total of 794,000 graduates live with their parents - more than the number of people still at home who left school at the age of 16 with only GCSEs.
The UK saw more children return to the nest last year than during the credit crunch. There was an increase of 150,000 20-34-year-olds living at home in the year after the economic downturn, but 180,000 more moved back in with their parents last year, taking the total of young adults at home to 3,350,000.
Surprisingly, almost two thirds of young adults living at home told a CreditExpert survey they were content with the situation, unlike a quarter of parents who say it has heaped stress on to them. A further eight per cent have been forced into debt because of the added cost of their children living with them.
There has been a 25 per cent increase in young adults moving home since 1996, with 667,000 more 20-34s at home then there was 18 years ago.
Of the 293,000 35-44-year-olds still living at home, three quarters are men, the Office for National Statistics figures show, suggesting that women are better at building a stable lives for themselves.
Rising house prices have also forced people home while they get together enough money to take out a mortgage.
Prices for first-time buyers went up 12 per cent in the last year - a £22,000 real-terms increase - taking the average sale to £204,000. This is the highest rate for people taking the first step on the housing ladder since 2010.
More students are also electing to live at home while they study because of the cost of rent at halls of residence. The average price for university accommodation is now £123.93 a week - up more than 50 per cent since 2006
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