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.
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.
Rising property prices to blame
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."
More common for young men and lower earners
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.
by Kagedeah
34 comments
Majority of homeless are men too odd that
Buying to rent hasn’t helped
Ironically I have found it is often the better off ones living at home to save up and or not face the world , lower incomes can’t afford to keep ones at home and fire them out , the housing situation is shocking but the council just keep approving student accommodation and bringing more people in to an infrastructure that is broken and can’t cope
Any fucking wonder.
Absolute nightmare to get on the property ladder. Wanker landlords taking the hand with the rent they are charging. Prices of everything through the roof
What doesn’t help are the salaries in NI, they’re an absolute joke. Cost of living is as high if not higher than else where yet pay is around 20% lower.
While house prices are considerably better here than over the water, the average income for young people working full time is horrendous! Most people would have to live at home to save to buy, it would be a slow process alongside the cost of renting.
It’s because we can’t fucking afford to move out.
Not be pedantic, but 25 – 34 is not a “young adult”
Surprised it’s that low to be honest
I’m in my 40s and live with my dad, I can’t afford to do otherwise truthfully. I’m struggling financially even doing that and don’t always eat every day.
Staying at home to save up and leave the country seems a better option that struggling to pay rent in a city with nothing to do
English rich cunts buying up spots round belfast so their little wank kids can be landlords too, bawsterds
Honestly, as long as you have a job and help pay the bills I don’t see the issue
Price of pints in belfast is no different to foggy london town either
Rather pay rent to my parents than some random landlord.
We bought up here because we were lucky due to inheritance – we couldn’t buy in Dublin – so we were able to get up here.
My experience buying:
1. Location – saw some crack-den like houses – but because they were based in a decent area – price was up. One house we visited – the agent told us that there would be roof repairs needed – estimated at 10,000 pounds. The house was also in a state – and if I remember correctly was priced at 160k starting – so once you buy – you’d have to spend at least 30k minimum to renovate the house.
2. Some places the starting price was listed on the advert – rock up to the house and be told a bidding price – one place started at 150k – we were told someone had put 180k down so that was the starting.
This was 2 years ago – we finally found a place – not the GREATEST area – but we have been fine so far – and the house was in really good knick for the price. Previous owner had looked after it very well.
Point is quality of your money is very hard to find + combined with economy, low wages etc – it must be so difficult if you need to raise the income yourself.
I moved out a few years ago but moved back in after just over 2 years due to mental health issues with one of my parents.
I’d love to be able to go out and buy a house right now since those issues are now a bit more stable, but then I have to give up a lot of what I live for, and I think that is another factor that is overlooked with todays economy.
You really need to want a house to go buy a house, and it needs to be the sole purpose in your life (from what I’ve seen with friends).
I drive a good bit in my free time, it wouldn’t be unheard of for me to take a headstagger and hammer down to Cork for a coffee and then back home, costs about £60 in petrol to do that. Almost every weekend I’d be out camping or exploring, and after working hours, If I’m not needed at home to help out then I’m not in the house.
My da bought the house we are currently living in back in the late 90’s for £30k, his wage at the time was £20k per year, in theory, disregarding tax and other bills, he could have bought this house with less than 2 years wages. In reality, he was paying less than £300 per month for his mortgage, about 18% of his monthly wage.
The same house today (valued a few months back at £250,000) with the same disregarding out tax and other bills, would take me over 5 years of salary to pay for it. The same mortgage with the same term today would cost me £2k per month, basically 50% of my wage.
Once you throw tax and national insurance on top of that, electricity, home insurance, rates etc… it just isn’t feasible.
*Both of those are based on a 15 year term at 5%, for comparison since that is how this house was originally purchased.*
The amount of wankers that buy to rent. It needs to be capped at like 2 houses if that.
Wages need to be seriously uplifted. I can’t understand how when rates go up that wages don’t. I understand they are linked and understand they are two large separate factors.
Tell me about it… I’m getting worried I’m going to be stuck with my eldest leeching off us until his 30s!
In all seriousness, it’s a shit show for young people that can’t draw on the bank of mum and dad. I was out of my parents at 21.
Here’s my take: referring to 25-34-year-olds as “young adults” is one of the most creative ways I’ve seen to gaslight an entire generation. Think about it—even at 25, you’ve been an “adult” for seven years, likely spending that time either working or in education. And what’s the reward? You’re priced out of homeownership, stuck living with your parents, or crammed into overpriced rentals. Now imagine being 34 and still in the same situation. But sure, let’s keep calling them “young adults,” like they’re still figuring out what they want to be when they grow up.
This kind of language isn’t just patronising—it’s part of a strategy to keep kicking the housing crisis down the road. If we pretend that 30-somethings are still “young people,” then we can also pretend their struggles are temporary. It shifts the blame: “Oh, they’re just getting started, give it time.” Time for what? The housing market to crash? Wages to magically catch up? Spoiler: they won’t. This isn’t a growing pain—it’s economic quicksand. The same people then wonder why the “young people” aren’t hitting major life milestones like marriage, having children, starting businesses etc. Housing is a foundation for all of this.
Older generations seem to think “millennials” are perpetually in their 20s, sipping lattes and taking selfies. Many millennials are in their 40s now, balancing child care, student loans, debt and the existential dread of knowing they’ll probably never retire. But hey, if you call them “young adults,” you can keep pretending the fucking mess you’ve made of housing is just a phase and not the final stages of a totally broken system.
At this point, calling them “young adults” feels less like a description and more like a punchline to a really bad joke and the joke’s on all of us.
When i was looking recently (last 18 months) at housing I ran into two issues:
1) Getting a house as a lone male (no partner) i need to have a ridiculous amount saved to even have a chance bidding, the amount of young men my age or a bit older who go in with their mams money to increase the bid by 20 grand? Fuck yourselves. Like i get it but your only serving the agent and not even yourself.
2) Houses I could afford, even at the upper end of my budget, had often more issues than you could deal with. Historic signs of damp, mould, cracks, even just signs of outright negligence. People selling houses don’t even try to hide their serious issues. The amount of times I left after 5 minutes cause of a dealbreaker (one instance I saw a massive hole in the wall obscured by photos, another time not a lie, but a ten foot stretch of heavy damp on an exterior wall) is upsetting.
I stayed at home till I was 28 and saved up a nice juicy warchest for a deposit from all the money I saved on rent. ‘Go out and embrace your independence’ has got to be some of the worst advice in history. Chances are you end up stuck in renting hell.
My main thing about this is property’s not allowing animals full stop. People who have pets are choosing their pets over moving out sooner! You literally cannot find a single rental property that allows animals. I just lied on the forms cause it is so ridiculous for an unfurnished residence to tell you you can’t have a hamster of all things
Most jobs here do not pay enough to cover private rent. Certainly not if you want to live alone.
i had to live alone at 17 due to the death of my parents, but god do i encourage people to live at home as long as possible, im 25 now and know very few my age who are living away from their families
Why are we still allowing people to move here when young people can’t get houses? Is every single migrant in a crucial job? Are those who aren’t net contributors? If no, then why are they allowed in?
Nobody should have 2 houses until everyone has one.
Like it or not, there’ll likely be another (proper) pandemic sooner than later, e.g. H5N1 (50:50), which might be nature’s way of mass population reduction, thus instantly more housing (assuming some vulture fund global corporation doesn’t swoop in to take advantage).
Almost 30 and still going strong, somehow commuting 3 times a week from bushmills to belfast is cheaper than rent
People forget that housing density has changed massively with the average household size nearly double in size in the 1940s. This means we need more houses.
The main cause since 2011 is widowed pensioners living in properties on their own. ( [nisra](https://datavis.nisra.gov.uk/census/census-2021-population-and-household-estimates-for-northern-ireland-statistical-bulletin-24-may-2022.html#) )Thus not releasing properties back onto the market and creating a need to keep building. If they did release these properties sooner then the price rises wouldn’t be as severe and as such less social homes are needed.
That plus help to buy, poor social care and the breakdown of the natural family in the 90s were the perfect demographic storm for a lack of supply. I.e demand exploded.
Longer life expectancy = more houses needed More single people = more houses needed One family households = more houses needed Net immigration = more houses needed High birth rate = more houses needed (no longer applies) Historically Low interest rates = more houses needed
With the price of rent and properties prices going buck wild combined with no real rise in spending power it will literally be impossible for a lot of lower wage earners (which is most people in the millennium and down generations) to EVER get on the property ladder.
If you didn’t buy before 2020 you’re fucked
Obviously across the UK the increasing cost of rent/mortgage is a huge issue, but here in NI we definitely have a culture of staying at home for longer. When you read TSR and the likes, it is always mentioned that when applying for university here or in the south you have to factor in that the majority of students go home most weekends, which apparently isn’t the case in the rest of UK. We seem to quite enjoy being at home.
Personally I love spending ~£900 a month just on rent + bills for the privilege of living in one of the worlds most mediocre capital cities
A mortgage? No no, I’d much rather keep throwing my money down the never ending black hole that is renting so I can help pay someone elses mortgage.
I’m 29 now, so it’s been 11 years since I first left home to live on my own, and here I am still renting 💀 Meanwhile the average rent in NI is skyrocketing year over year, exacerbating this problem even more.
I have already informed my three and a half year old daughter that she will be forcibly removed from the home should she decide to try and live with us past 18. She cried a bit and I’m not sure she fully understood but I think she needs to know.
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