What the papers said about home ownership and the remortgage race

The challenges of achieving home ownership were highlighted once again this weekend, with the Financial Times reporting on recent figures published by the Office of National Statistics. Their research found that the proportion of homeowners aged between 22 and 29 fell from 37% to 27% between 2008 and 2017. More than half of this age group also said they had no money in savings, due to rising rents and increasing levels of student debt. Many families are still keen to help young people take that first step onto the ladder, and the assistance of the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ has been well reported. The Sunday Express revealed however that many grandparents are also providing a great deal of support. A report in 2017 found that 8% of first-time buyers now rely on the ‘Bank of Grandma and Grandpa’ to help fund their property purchase. Interestingly, 13% of ‘second steppers’ also rely on help from grandparents in order to move up the ladder. Elsewhere, experts in the Sunday Times urged homeowners to review their mortgage options now, even if their current deal doesn’t end just yet. Interest rates have been at record lows, but with predicted increases on the horizon, borrowers would do well to secure a new rate – even as much as 6 months in advance.