Around two thirds of people who are receiving financial support from families are getting funds from the equity of their relative’s home, research from a lender has suggested.
According to Hodge, which surveyed 1,240 people between 16 and 80-plus, 61% of people under the age of 50 who wanted help to buy property, pay off debt or meet rising living costs had done so with a relative’s equity release.
Approximately a quarter of those who had received financial support had used the funds to purchase a property themselves.
Around 84% of people aged under 50 say they needed financial support from family to help with the cost of living generally.
Over half of those aged over 50 said the cost of living had impacted their ability to lend money to others in return.
Hodge: ‘A different era financially’
Emma Graham, business development director for mortgages at Hodge said: “What these figures show us is that families are moving into a different era financially, and starting to focus much more heavily on pooling their monetary resources.
“There is a progression now, it would seem, towards meeting the challenges presented by the cost of living crisis as a united family unit, and looking at what can be drawn down from assets the previous generation has amassed in order to support their children or grandchildren now, as opposed to focusing on what could be set to get passed on.”
She added: “What these figures show us clearly, is that the need to remain flexible and support borrowers at all stages of their life for the benefit of family members looking to get on themselves is more crucial than ever.
“Our focus here at Hodge has always been to flex and respond to market pressures in a way that allows us to continue supporting our brokers and their customers in the moments that matter, and we’re working harder than ever in light of this research to make sure that continues.”
