'The novelty of living with parents wore off a long time ago'

Almost a quarter of young adults in Northern Ireland are still living with their parents, new research suggests.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has used official data to estimate the proportion of 25 to 34 year-olds living in the parental home.

Emily Millar, 28, who lives with her parents Balllymoney, County Antrim, said "the novelty wore off long ago".

The UK average is 18% while Northern Ireland has the highest rate of 23% and the North East of England has the lowest rate of 17%.

The IFS said the proportion of UK adults in their 20s and 30s living with their parents has risen by over a third over the last two decades.

It suggests that the rising cost of housing is likely to be a significant reason for the increase.

Bee Boileau, Research Economist at IFS and an author of the report, said: "In the last decade and a half, there has been a substantial increase in the proportion of young adults living with their parents.

"This has occurred alongside – and indeed has been fuelled by – increases in rents and house prices.

"For some, living with parents provides an opportunity to build up savings more quickly than if they were renting.

"However, others are likely to be living at a parental home due to a bad shock of some kind – such as the end of a relationship or a redundancy – or simply because they cannot afford to live independently."

Between 2006 and 2024, the rate of parental co-residence among 25 to 34-year-olds in the UK rose by five percentage points, from 13% to 18%.

This represents about 450,000 more 25-to 34-year-olds living at a parental home than if co-residence were at its 2006 rate.

In Northern Ireland the increase was from 21% to 23%.

At a UK level the IFS found that co-residing is more common for young men and lower earners.

Almost half of 25 to 34-year-olds in the bottom fifth by income are living at a parental home, compared with just 2% of those in the top fifth.

Oisin Cash moved back in with his parents in Belfast in 2020 to save money for a deposit to buy a home.

Now aged 29, he says the housing market has got worse for first-time buyers in that time.

"I don't see the situation changing, the market is crazy and the amount of money that people need to get together is unachievable for a lot of people," he said.

"We're not building enough homes, and I think some public money could be redirected, because there aren't enough being built."

Mr Cash is trying to use the co-ownership scheme, in which you buy a percentage share of a property and pay rent on the remainder.

"I think I could have my own place this year, but without the co-ownership scheme it would probably take me about two years to get enough money together."

Emily Millar said living with her parents has allowed her to make inroads towards saving a deposit, but wants to get out on her own soon.

"It's been challenging living with my family again, but you can't have it both ways."

Emily travels to Belfast for work each day.

Rachel Smith is 27 living in her family home near Bushmills, County Antrim.

"I'm living at home because it's handy for my work and I'm saving money in the process," she said.

"For me it's more important to build up your career and get a good job, become established with a good savings account and then look into getting a house after that."

"Once I have the financial security behind me I am hoping to look for a house and move out after that.

"It's more difficult, things are more expensive, houses are hard to come by, and that probably puts people off wanting to move out younger."