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News: Adkids and the 9 lives of homeowners

Fri, 04 May 07

Living longer and having fewer kids has created a new breed of homeowner, according to a report by Alliance & Leicester Mortgages...

Because of our extended life expectancy, and apparent inability to stay in one place for any length of time, homeowners, like cats, now have "nine lives", reports Findaproperty.com.

Previously, the individual would move from the parental home into married life, followed by upsizing to a family home with some sprogs. Inevitably, the kids would grow up and leave the nest, and ultimately one partner would be outlive another in the home.

But not anymore. According to Alliance & Leicester, it's all a bit more complicated now:  kids linger longer in the parental home; they share houses with friends; live alone as singletons; co-habit with partners; live alone after divorce or separation; set up house and have kids themselves; become empty nesters; and live alone as widows/widowers.            

Effects on the Housing Market

All of this means two things: we move more often, and the number of households who need a roof over their heads is on the rise. Stephen Leonard, Director of Mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, reckons these trends will increase over the next 20 years:

"Changing demographics and social attitudes will inevitably have an effect on the housing market in the future, for example, the number of times that people move in their lifetime, or the increase or decrease in the type of household they live in.

"Our research demonstrates the appetite for moving will increase in the future as new generations of householders emerge, keeping the housing market full of life."

The rise of single occupancy households is one such factor, with a predicted increase of 53 per cent by 2026. In addition, lone parent homes will succeed the family home as divorce rates look set to rise.

In contrast, the number of married couple households is forecast to fall by eight per cent over the next 20 years, while the number of cohabiting couples could grow by up to 83 per cent in the same period.

Adkids and Sandwiches

But what of the extra stages that will give homeowners nine instead of five householder lives? The report has come up with two ridiculously named concepts to describe some major new phases.

Firstly, there is the "adkid"- an adult with a Peter Pan complex, happily reaping the benefits of living at home with his or her parents and thus prolonging the parental-home stage of living.

As adults come to rely on their parents more, the impetus to move out and get married is lessened and the age at which they finally flee the nest will rise, with knock on effects for events like marriage and childbirth.

This in turn means that the empty-nest phase does not occurs until later in life, and lasts for a shorter length of time.  Thus, the "sandwich" generation is born.

As delectable as this sounds, it actually refers to couples facing demands from two other generations -  their needy offspring and their elderly parents.  All of which, of course, the adkids of today have to look forward to.

The Future "Nine Lives" Stages Of Homeownership

1. Parental home
2. Student house/ renting with friends
3. Living alone
4. Co-habiting couple
5. Family home with kids
6. Divorced/ separated lone parent
7. Adkids/ elderly parents live-in household
8. Empty nesters
9. Lone widow/widower

 

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