Rising house prices deter more twenty-somethings from leaving home

Official figures show that six in ten men aged 20 to 24 and four in ten women in England have not moved out of the family house.

This is a rise of 16 per cent for men since 1991 and 20 per cent for women.

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Part of the increase can be explained by the growth in higher education and the popularity of the gap year. These have led to more students, who view the family home as their base.

But the Office of National Statistics also blamed spiralling house prices for keeping the young tied to their parents.

Abbie Self, editor of the Social Trends report, said: "The progress of the housing market seems to echo the pattern of young people living with their parents."

The report said: "Steep increases in house prices have made affordability a particular concern to firsttime buyers.

"Over the past decade, the rise in average house prices paid by firsttime buyers has been far greater than the increase in their average incomes."

The average house price reached £183,966 in 2005 - up nearly 6 per cent on the previous year and nearly treble the 1995 average.

In the decade to 2005, the average price paid by first-time buyers rose by 204 per cent from £46,489 to £141,229. But the average income of first-time buyers increased by 92 per cent to £35,900 over the same period.

First-time buyers are paying larger deposits to get on the property ladder as the gap between house prices and their incomes widens, the report said.

In 1995, first-time buyers in the UK paid an average £4,800 deposit - about 10 per cent of the average house price for that year, if found.

The study also noted that about one in five men lives with their parents during their late 20s.

This is an increase of about 15 per cent since the early 1990s. Nearly one in ten remains at home beyond the age of 30.

The Social Trends study also found that older women are increasingly marrying young men.

More than a quarter of the women who married in 2004 picked younger husbands.This compares with 15 per cent in the mid-1960s.

However, the average age for marriage remains at 32 for men and 29 for women.

Most analysts point to the growth of education and earnings among women as a reason for delaying marriage.

Women's increasing earning power allows them to choose a husband younger and often less wealthy than themselves.

Previous research has shown that young adults repeatedly come back to their parents looking for financial handouts. Living at home allows them to live rent-free which gives them more disposable income.

A recent survey showed that as many as 10million adults have asked their parents for money to help them out.

Almost 30 per cent wanted the money to help them buy a home, 23 per cent for a car, 15 per cent to buy household goods and 14 per cent to allow them to pay off debts.

Research by Scottish Widows shows that four in ten parents have dipped into funds which they had put aside for themselves. The average sum involved is £12,300.

Meanwhile, other studies found that the parents of young children are already saving for their future.

Clydesdale Bank said 23 per cent of parents believe their children will struggle to afford to buy a house without significant help.

High house prices have also led the young to club together and take out "group mortgages".