More extended families sharing home

The majority of people, accounting for just over two-thirds of households, currently live with just their immediate family, such as their partner and children, according to Halifax Home Insurance.

But 26% people said they would consider buying a bigger home or extending their current one in order to accommodate additional family members, while 27% would be prepared to jointly purchase a property with their parents or in-laws.

The main reason people gave for wanting to live as an extended family was so that they would be able to look after their parents or in-laws as they got older, cited by 43% of people.

A further 31% of people said they thought it made financial sense to live as an extended family, while 11% said they simply wanted as many family members as possible living under the same roof.

But despite the financial advantages of pooling resources, 76% of those questioned admitted that they thought there was a social stigma attached to people aged over 30 who still lived with their parents.

David Rochester, head of underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance, said: "The current economic and social climate in Britain is showing a shift towards several generations living together under one roof. This is something that used to be relatively common in the past. More recent years have seen an increase in independence and people moving away from this trend.

"However, changing financial pressures, plus the desire to look after the family and enjoy having them around seems to be showing a shift towards multi-generation households again."

People in the South East are most likely to consider living as an extended family, with 31% saying they would be prepared to buy a bigger house or extend their current one in order to accommodate extra family members.

They were closely followed by those in the North West at 30%, and people in Wales and Scotland at 29% and 28% respectively.