The latest research from the National Housing Federation shines a light on the issues facing UK families today and the changing dynamic of the family home.

According to the research, grown up adult children are now more likely to stay with their parents in the family home than move out after they have graduated university. Three out of 10 parents (27%) have at least one adult child, aged between 21 and 40, living with them which suggests that ‘empty nest syndrome’ is a thing of the past for many.

Of course, this is a challenging climate for those beginning the next phase of their adult lives with rising unemployment figures, high deposits, exorbitant rents and a lack of quality housing, all impacting heavily on the choices available to them. Many young adults are left with little alternative but to return to the security of the family home yet parents are fully aware that their children would move out tomorrow if they could afford to.

The UK is a nation for whom the ambition has always been to own property, very different to our European counterparts. The younger generation has understandably inherited this trait but are currently under served by the properties and funding available.

Setting aside the funding issue, the lack of affordable and quality housing for buyers, young and old, presents a difficult conundrum. We need to redraw the UK housing map and look at alternative options to ensure we help alleviate this current situation. We must think very carefully about where and what we are building and for whom in order to answer the challenges presented across the generations.

Building more is not necessarily the answer. Thousands of appropriate properties for first time buyers exist up and down the country but the movement through the rest of the chain is limited and preventing these properties coming to market.

Many young families find themselves unable to move out of their first or second properties and graduate to larger family homes. This is because these properties are held by older people who are suffering from a dearth of credible, alternative retirement living options to encourage downsizing. The recent HAPPI2 report states, if 2% (84,000) of the older people presently under-occupying their homes moved into retirement housing then 400,000 people could find their housing needs met. This would effect change across the hierarchy, freeing properties up at every level. However, this is not about forcing older people out of their homes; it is about providing credible, desirable alternatives that meet the ambitions for later life and in the process opens up the family housing market.

There is a need to think creatively about the housing options available in a nation which has a finite amount of available land. While there is more work to be done by Government and the financial services industry to help young people access the property ladder, we also need to ensure that the right properties are available and each generation is catered for.

Nick Sanderson is chief executive officer of Audley Retirement Villages