Teen property dream shattered

Posted: 05 Sep 2006 14:20:41 GMT

Over half (56 per cent) of teenagers hope to buy a house between the ages of 23 and-27-years-old despite the fact that the average age of a first-time buyer is 34, according to new research.

The IFA Promotion study also shows that 83 per cent of teens believe that they will be homeowners, when the stark reality is that around 5.8 million adults can't afford to get on the property ladder.

Analysts believe that teenagers are peering through rose tinted glasses, perhaps thinking that their parents will bank-roll them into the property market.

However, teenagers are in for another shock as 40 per cent of parents can't afford to help their children buy a new home.

Karen Barrett, from IFA Promotion, stated: "Unrealistic expectations are coupled with a shocking lack of knowledge about the home buying process. 80 per cent know nothing, or little, about buying a property or mortgages."

Only 21 per cent of teenagers who took part in the survey saw buying a house as a financial burden and fewer than ten per cent of those questioned feared that they wouldn't own a home.


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