More than half of first-time buyers that purchased a home between 2015 and 2019, said they had some form of financial help from their parents as ever-increasing up-front sums required for a mortgage are unachievable for many, according to the latest data from YouGov.

The YouGov survey, which took place between 2 and 25 March and surveyed 2,988, found that the number of those getting family help has doubled since the turn of the millennium. Between 2004 and 2004, only 27% of people received help when buying their first home. 

While there has been a drop in those buying their first home from 2020 onwards, YouGov says this is likely due to the impact of the pandemic rather than a broader societal shift.

The majority of the change over time has come in the form of help with deposits, the data showed. 

Of those who purchased their first home between 1970 and 1974, 3% said their parents paid the entire deposit, and 4% say they paid some of it.

One in ten (10%) of those who got their first home between 1990 and 1994 say their parents helped with the deposit, a figure largely the same for those buying between 2000 and 2004 (13%).

However, sometime after 2005 parental help for house deposits began to increase sharply. The data found that one in five (22%) of those who bought between 2005 and 2009 had help with theirs. This further increased between 2010 and 2014 with 28% of respondents receiving help. 

Parental help peaked between 2015 and 2019 at 31%, including one in twelve (8%) whose parents paid the entire deposit.

Of the most recent buyers (2020 onwards), 24% said they had help with their deposit from family, including 6% who had the entire deposit paid for them, and 16% whose family contributed to it.

Prior to the pandemic, 31% of first time buyers had help from their parents paying the deposit, which was up from 13% at the start of the millennium.