How boomerang kids can save a £17,000 house deposit in just one year

last updated 7 June 2022

With those of us wanting to buy our first home, it can often seem like an unrealistic dream, but a new survey by Barratt Homes reveals it can ACTUALLY be possible to save a deposit in just one year.

‘What have I got to do to achieve that?’ I hear you say...

Well, as long as you don’t mind packing your bags and moving back with your parents, then you could soon be picking up the keys to your first home.

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Barratt Homes surveyed over 1,000 parents with boomerang kids (when you move back home to live with your parents after renting), and compared how much the kids contributed to the household to average rent and bills for a two-bed apartment in cities across the UK.

Those living with their parents in London came out with the biggest savings of £17,233.44 in a year, with parents charging, on average, a very generous 8 per cent of the average living costs in the area.

Want to see how your city did in the survey? Take a look at the Barratt Homes survey.

Some areas fared better than others, with parents in Brighton helping their children to save £9,195.48 a year. This was done by charging them just 13 per cent of what they would pay locally for rent and bills. While in Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester boomerang kids could save over £7,000.

On average, boomerang kids saved £489.26 a month with the help from 'The Hotel of Mum and Dad. Which works out at £5,871.16 a year. That’s more than half of a 5 per cent deposit on the average UK property price of £228,147. Yikes!

With house prices always seeming to be on the rise, maybe now is the time to reclaim your childhood bedroom and move back home. That’s if your parents haven’t already turned it into the home office!

Amy Hodge has been working on interiors magazines for over 11 years. She's a freelance writer and sub editor who has worked for some of the UK's leading interiors magazines including Ideal Home, Style at Home and Country Homes & Interiors. She started at Style at Home just after it launched as food editor and is now chief sub editor for Ideal Home, Style at Home and Country Homes & Interiors.