Getting on the property ladder can seem like an impossible feat for most young people. So when we hear of friends or family who have put down that elusive deposit, we’re often left wondering: how did they do it? And often it’s safe to assume that they’ve had to reach out to the ‘bank of mum and dad’.

So it’s interesting to see the results of new research confirming how many new home owners are lucky enough to have received a boost from their parents in several different ways. 

HSBC’s Beyond the Bricks report on millennial homeowners shows that of the 31% who own homes in the UK, 35% received parental help.

It also confirmed that as well as help with a deposit, parents had enabled young home owners in other ways: 27% had borrowed money from family further down the line when they discovered they’d gone over budget, and a further 27% had moved back in with their parents in order to save for a deposit in the first place (a chunk above the average of 20% across the nine countries represented in the survey).

The report is are based on 9,000 respondents across nine countries.

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It’s no real surprise that percentages are this high, considering UK house prices now check in at an average of £207,308, and considerably more in the most desirable areas of the country, like London. Recent research has even shown that it could take a single woman living in the Capital anything from five to 68 years to afford a deposit on a home.

The study also confirmed that the average rate of property price increase compared to salary growth is what prevents young people from being able to invest in their first home, with 64% of millennials needing to earn a higher salary before they can buy. In 2016, the average UK property price rose by 7.5%, while wages increased by less than 2%.

Though the study did highlight that despite the hurdles, millennials remain determined to get a foot on the property ladder: 74% said they expect to own a home within the next five years.

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“This study challenges the myth that the home ownership dream is dead for millennials in the UK,” said Tracie Pearce, head of mortgages at HSBC UK. “With three in ten already owning their own home, the dream of home ownership for millennials is definitely alive and kicking.

“In the UK, they face a two-pronged problem of rising house prices and slow salary growth meaning the dream of home ownership is a challenge but not unachievable.”

Images: iStock