More banking on mum and dad to fund first home

Victoria McHardy with young Emily. Photo / Supplied

More than three-quarters of people struggling to get on the property ladder say they won't be able to buy a house in the next few years.

As house prices continue to soar, particularly in Auckland, eight in 10 New Zealanders who do not own a house feel it is unlikely they will be able to buy one within three to five years, according to a new survey.

And seven in 10 Aucklanders hoping for their own first home said a handout from their parents was the only chance they had.

"Not only does it put pressure on those wanting to get into the property market, but it also puts the burden on parents to keep supporting their children at a time when they want to start enjoying their own life," said Bruce Gordon, chief executive of HRV, which carried out the survey.

The survey comes in the same month QV revealed only 10 of Auckland's 167 suburbs have homes with a median value under $500,000. The average value for Auckland has risen to $855,672 according to QV.

Victoria and Cory McHardy are among the scores of Aucklanders who have required family assistance to get into their first home.

Able to save only half the 20 per cent deposit for their first home in Papakura in 2013, the couple eventually bought after Victoria's father agreed to be a loan guarantor.

"We knew that by the time we saved another 10 per cent the prices would have been out of reach so Dad agreed to go guarantor for us," Victoria said. "We are glad we bought when we did, we couldn't have done it otherwise."

The HRV survey found two-thirds of homeowners were worried about their children's home ownership prospects but only 23 per cent were able to assist.

Nationally, just over half of people said they would need financial help from their parents to realise the home ownership dream.

Squirrel mortgage adviser Lindsay Hill said about a quarter of his clients were using parental assistance, usually by contributing towards the 20 per cent deposit for a mortgage.

Most first-home buyers with Squirrel had an average mortgage of $500,000. He described that level of debt as a "scary prospect".