Inspired by a post in the Cost of Living thread. Be interested to know how this shakes out with age!
I don't. My house is nice, and I am eternally grateful to be a homeowner at all, but it's a small 2 bed terrace in a cheapish area (er, of an expensive city).
Of the friends I can think of, I reckon maybe 11 out of 12 live in less nice houses than their parents did/do. We're all in our mid 40s, and some of these people are fairly solidly middle class too.
Are we just a bunch of outliers? Or are the 40-somethings the generation where it starts to tip back?
NB - there is to be no generational fighting in this thread 😆
55 years old, more demanding job than my parents, no way I have ever been able to afford a home comparable to the one my parents brought me up in, not even close.
I definitely do. But they both downsized from family houses when they got older. I’d say my place is fairly equivalent to the last family house we lived in as a family.
Definitely less stressed than my Dad was in his job… but I am literally half a world away.
Well, technically - we own our modest semi, whereas my mum (now passed) and step dad live(d) in a council house.
However, that house is undoubtedly worth more than ours, being bigger and on the edge of a Peak District village
My parents lived in MOD married quarters for most of my childhood, and we settled in Buckinghamshire when my dad left the RAF. There's is no way I could afford to live in that part of the world. The house I own is a mid-terrace in Chorlton Manchester, it's nice, but value-wise compared to where they are...No chance.
Nice is subjective. So i'll use the term 'bigger' - physically bigger/more expensive.
Yes, mine is bigger than my (Silent Generation) parents. Of my other Gen X cohort friends, 75-80% fit that description. Their houses are bigger that their parents.
No, and we lived in a council house my mum later bought. Those houses worth over £500 000 now, my house is worth about £350 000 at best.
No. I live in a two bed flat, they have lived in a bunch of lovely houses. Im 65 they are in their 90s and now in a posh bungalow in a posh suburb
No. Small 3 bed semi here, they live in a huge 5 bed detached.
But, that's a decision on our part to keep a tiny mortgage and have lots of spare income (and have no kids).
Nicer is a bit "in the eye of the beholder" to me.
I live in a small, one bed old house out in the forest, but it has a decently large garden and fits me and the cat well enough. I don't need anything bigger and could probably go smaller, but compared to where I grew up it's a smaller house with a smaller garden.
I'm glad I have this place though. Living in a town would give me better access to work, facilities, social life (I guess), but would mean a big compromise on living space and economy. I've just had a look at the local housing website and all of the places that I could afford with a mortgage are either small, in town or not nice. Prices in town seem to be between 30 and 70k SEK/KVM and the nicest thing I can say about that is that at least it is cheaper than Stockholm.
Nah, I'm happy here. I'll probably leave in a box.
I just looked up, when my parents bought their "family" home in 1980 it was about 20,000 (which was quite expensive at the time and I think was very close to the maximum mortgage they could get even taking into account they were upsizing) according to inflation figures it should now be about 110,000. According to Rightmove, similar houses on that street have sold for 400,000+.
Nope - never even lived in a detached house as an adult (57 now).
My parents built 3 houses through the 70s and 80s and my dad still knocks around in a large 4 bed house on his own.
I'd love to be getting a cracking inheritance but they had a live-for-today lifestyle and there is equity release on his house now so there won't be a fat lot left to inherit!! 🙂
BUT - I'm mortgage free at 57 - my dad (via equity release) is still paying 'the-man' well into his 80's.
So I consider I'm winning.
My house is worth more due to its location, but it is definitely not as nice. Parents also have a better garden.
I do have a bigger garage though....
Nope. Nor does my other half. And we never will.
No. Nothing wrong with my house that a couple of extra rooms wouldn't fix but I always lived in bigger houses growing up. Saying that, we had a large family and my parents went without other things to provide a suitable home for us. Thinking about it though, only my dad worked while we were growing up (Education Officer so good salary without being well off) where as both my wife and I do and we couldn't get close to affording the houses I grew up in.
On my wife's side her parents house is also way past what we could afford although her mum was a teacher and dad made decent money in sales.
Nope, I live in a small 3 bed terrace (but big garden), grew up in a 4 bed semi detached house.
Mum now has a 4 bed detached house that is empty most of the year as she spends majority of her time in Turkey in a 5 bed detached with a pool.
I just looked up, when my parents bought their "family" home in 1980 it was about 20,000 (which was quite expensive at the time and I think was very close to the maximum mortgage they could get even taking into account they were upsizing) according to inflation figures it should now be about 110,000. According to Rightmove, similar houses on that street have sold for 400,000+.
From memory when we moved in 1986 the house sold for 40k. It was on the market the other year for over ten times that.
Yes, but...
They split up, no chance I would have got near the family home I was brought up in, in terms of value. I had to move to a cheaper part of the country.
I'm 47 and have 18 years left on my mortgage, they were both nearly mortgage free by 50.
just looked up, when my parents bought their "family" home in 1980 it was about 20,000 (which was quite expensive at the time and I think was very close to the maximum mortgage they could get even taking into account they were upsizing) according to inflation figures it should now be about 110,000. According to Rightmove, similar houses on that street have sold for 400,000+.
Yes, the house my parents bought - also in 1980 - for £12k recently went on the market for £525k. It's had some fancy work done on it in the meantime (big open plan living area now) but still!
No.
Also, whilst my parents struggled to pay mortgage and make ends meet, they did this whilst their house price hugely increased in value, by something like 400-500%.
That's very unlikely to happen to this generation.
No my house is smaller not as nice garden is about one tenth the size of my parents garden. However I there's few places in the world that can match the location of my house for biking canoeing etc so I am happy
Also, whilst my parents struggled to pay mortgage and make ends meet, they did this whilst their house price hugely increased in value, by something like 400-500%.
That's very unlikely to happen to this generation.
You never know! 😆
This one of the things that often gets left out of the generational economics argument. Inflation was insane in the early 80s, and my folks were absolutely skint and came very close to losing the house they'd bought in 1980. It was a tough few years for all of us. But one upshot of that was that within a decade, the mortgage was absolute buttons. A £10k mortgage was a lot in 1980. But not so much in 1990!
In comparison, my house cost about 8 years of my salary in 2015. That 2015 purchase price is now about 5.5 years of my 2026 salary - still a solid chunk.
But who knows what inflation and interest rates are about to do next....
Interesting - I was the one who mentioned that in the other thread. Obviously I see things through "my lens" and perhaps it is the case that I had a particularly "poor" upbringing and then "did well" but here's some context:
My mother very much comes from a middle class family (she and her siblings went to private school). My father's family were probably more working class although my paternal grandparents owned their own home by the time the retired and were reasonably comfortable. Neither of my parents went to university, although they did go to college and were not at the bottom of the barrel jobs wise. My mum worked till my older brother was born and then part time from when I was about 10. They had three sons in a small house (a four in a block or "cottage flat" as they are known in Glasgow), the area contained a lot of what would now be housing association properties but they bought it as newly weds: single glazing, coal fire etc. I remember when we got a freezer and the revelation of an automatic washing machine. They sold that place in 2002 after we had all left home for just under £50k - so that will give some perspective. By then it had double glazing and central heating. Neighbouring properties go for about £100-120k now depending on condition. They moved out of the city to a semi-detached that cost about £90k (funded with inheritance) and is probably worth about double that now.
My wife's parents definitely came from working class backgrounds, started in council housing, which they bought under right to buy and sold when she was about 14 and bought a nicer house that is probably worth about £200k now maybe a bit more. Its a small 3 bed detached in a town close enough to Edinburgh to cost a bit more but sufficiently inconvenient and type of area that its rarely mentioned here when someone asks "where should I buy".
I'm not trying to humble brag - but my wife and I live in a property which is worth a bit more than either of theirs now, certainly larger and I think in a more desirable area. Compared to where we both grew up its a leap. Its downside is not having much garden but for us that was actually not a negative. Its probably a £320k house. I do occassionally wonder if we'd gone back to those "roots" how much more cash we'd have to play with - not that we are on the breadline.
We aren't the anomaly in the family, her sister is living in a huge 4 bed new build that cost over £400k. My siblings both went on to nicer houses in nicer parts of the country than where they grew up. Rough ball park my brothers' houses will be similar to mine - certainly more than even where my parents live now. I get the impression from their life partners that these were also a "step up" for them. I'm not particularly close to cousins - but there are losts of them and all seem to be in similar boats, except for one of my wife's cousins who's never had a job until he was 40 and never formed a stable relationship.
Now it might be that we are a perfect example of social mobility. There was no bank of mum and dad to help us out. Its likely that is and when any inheritance comes this way it will basically skip a generation to help my children get on the ladder but they might need to check their aspirations for doing better than the generation before!
No.
I have a three bed flat with a small garden in the Tweed Valley.
My parents still have the house they bought in 1987. Four bed farm house, with a two bed cottage, holiday rental, in a converted barn, and four acres, in Lincolnshire.
My dad was 46 and my mum was 30 when they bought that. I'm 44 now. Theirs is worth about eight times what mine is.
As an aside, my dad bought the house across the road from where they are now in 1976 for £12k, about three times the average wage at the time. It sold last year for £495k, thirteen times the average wage (it's had an extension with one more bedroom since but even so)
I prefer my location though (as in I like being in the hills, their village is nicer, they aren't on a main road like me either)
My sister has a three bed new build about twelve miles from my parents at 42, worth about a quarter of what theirs is. She works much harder than me though
Dad was a vicar, so grew up in a very nice house... Image fail - only one house mind & it didn't belong to us. Suffice to say I don't live in a nicer house than that but mine is worth 20x what my dad could have bought the above one for in the mid 1960s
Yes and no.
My parents house was definitely nicer in my view, but in terms of resale...
Yes, but.
Our house is bigger than either of our families, and more along with it in terms of space/land etc. in a similar area to my folks.
however, we don't have kids and we both work full time with above average income so not necessarily apples with apples. Our expenditure is probably the same percentage wise, but ours goes on mortgage etc rather than family living costs.
Neither our families or us have had finance for cars or big expensive holidays etc. We're both mid 40's.
Pointless random fact. My parents sold the house they had when I was born for 76 times what they paid for it.....
Yes, by a long way. Parents were working class (lorry driver dad, part time various jobs mum) and we lived in a 3 bed semi in a fairly rough area. My mum still lives in the same house.
My house (thatched cottage with very large garden in a village in the New Forest) is worth 3-4 times the value of my parents house.
I suppose this is largely based on firstly how well off your parents were in their time and secondly how lucky you have been in your life.
I suppose this is largely based on firstly how well off your parents were in their time and secondly how lucky you have been in your life
Yup - example, my youngest son & partner had their first house bought for them by her parents, north of £600k & no requirement to pay them back, so already in a pricier house than me or my ex.
Brought up in a 3-bed semi (moved to a 4-bed detached when I was in my later teens). Bought my own 2-bed terrace, then a nicer 2/3 bed terrace. Then my parents both died, I inherited a modest sum (shared with two siblings) and bought a 4-bed detached (slightly larger/more valuable than my parents' house).
I really wish I'd kept the first house as a rental – I could have afforded to, as the second house was bought with my wife so we had significantly more (mortgage) buying power. If I'd have kept it, I could be thinking about early retirement.
Yes on size, features and garden space but it's in the centre of a city. Places I lived as a child included an island in the south Atlantic, various officers quarters in Germany, small villages in Cumbria and Yorkshire. All of which easily had better locations.
No.
Parents - 7 bed, 35 acres of land.
Me - 3 bed semi
(though in terms of value there's probably only 3-fold difference)
I'd say yes. After my parents split up my 2 sisters and I lived with my mum and grew up in a council house in a shit hole estate in Leicester, which is still not much better 30/40 years on. That was after spending a while crammed into my grandparents house...
My dad now has a modest detached house but my semi nr Leeds is bigger and in a better location so worth more. My mum rents a small 1 bed cottage, which is nice but again mine is bigger and better.
For my wife it slightly different, her parents were better off than mine but also split up and her mum downsized to a small 2 bed terrace and her dad has a nice detatched place that is on par with ours, but he's down sized from bigger nicer properties than ours.
We could have had bigger, but we've always tried to be sensible. I'd rather go on holiday than have a bigger house.
I definitely do.
Grew up in a one bedroom mining cottage with 5 of us in it.
I now live in a 5 bedroom house with 2 of us in it!
Yes - but only because my parents then my dad downsized twice.
I'm using nicer as size of property and garden. My dads house is in much better condition that mine whereas mine is larger and has much more garden space.
Neither of our houses are a patch on where I grew up. That place was beautiful and had plenty of room/garden/outbuildings.
I was brought up in a really nice house - modern 4 bed detached on a modern estate etc etc etc.
Would I class it as "nice" now? Nope. I couldn't live where they live - it'd drive me nuts. I live in a 30s semi on a really nice tree lined road with a back garden triple the size of most new builds. Its a place with character. Money wise its probably worth a bit more than my parents place but how I view "nice", its 100x better.
Probably. But not by much.
Parents lived in several places in England over the years including apartments in London, service accommodation, 1970s semis and detacheds, Victorian stone terrace, coastal bungalows, and sheltered accommodation
I suppose our Victorian detached in a south manchester ‘village’ has a similar, possibly bigger, area to my parents’ Victorian end terrace ‘peak house’ in a most desirable West Yorkshire town. Allowing for the passage of time I’d say they’re similarly appointed. Maybe ours has fancier wallpaper and more art? We have more garden though. Looking online the prices of that house and ours are similar.
We don’t have a view of the moors out of our bedroom windows though.
Yes we do have a nicer (more expensive) house but we bought it after two decades of earning as dinkies with two solid professional jobs whereas they had 3 children to raise on one salary and still managed to buy a pretty nice big 4-bed.
nope we are in a semi rural 3 bed semi - explicitly with the aim of keeping costs low and being more self sufficient.
My parents lived in the town provosts old house - a 4 bed.
and latterly the dentists house in France
Of course - Dad was a builder and made both houses what they were from dilapidated shells with value add - They worked hard for nice things - Both were energy sinks and high costs.
Once dad passed - we sold up and drastically downsized mum into a small 2 bed in the next village to us.
Not for comparable points in our lives, no. But they took a different approach with housing goals.
My 22 year old son and his GF have just bought what is arguably a better house than this one. But we are mortgage free.
Mine never owned a house, always rented a two up, two down in what's now a nice, gentrified Birmingham commuter village (was a middle-of-nowhere farming village when they were growing up and moved in). So although theirs is now probably worth more than the three bed Birmingham suburban semi we live in, ours is much nicer - it's bigger, handy for doing things and actually has a garden, rather than a patch of grass backing onto a pub car park. 🙂
Yes. The house that we have is bigger than the one I was bought up in and in a more rural location*
Thats more to do with my partner’s job before she retired than mine.
* In 1963 when my parents moved into the house that my Dad still lives in it was brand new and cost £5000. Because of where it is it’s probably worth £400000 +
It was in a semi rural hamlet in a parish with 2500 people. It is now surrounded by 2000+ new build houses which have spread between three villages which also have new housing estates around them and the parish has about 35000 people.
If my parents were to sell their house today it would be worth 2.5 times mine - mainly to do with the area having massively gentrified. The one they now live in now their new country, is much bigger than mine now too.
They don't have an airfryer though.
I have all the deeds and conveyancing for my current house. built in 1884 the mortgage was £100.00. At each successive buy/sell -turn of the century, the thirties, and than the fifties, when it was sold for death duties the mortgage value was at about the £200-£400 mark In the seventies it's thousands for the first time and gets sold a bunch of times, until we bought it, when it was valued at £400,000.
wild ride.
