House prices, student debt & the dilemmas that young adults face today | Project Peter Pan

Rising energy bills, high unemployment rates, a competitive job market and increasing house prices make it a very difficult time to be a young adult in the UK today. 

Compared to previous generations, it may be much more difficult for people in their late 20s and early 30s to achieve financial stability in the post-pandemic world.

'You've never had it so good', is a statement you may hear often from the older generation, but here's why that's not necessarily true.

Having studied at university, I began my career in Journalism following graduation five years ago. At the time, it was the right decision for myself, but today, there’s never any guarantee that you will be able to get into your preferred profession just because you’ve obtained a degree, but it will stand you in good stead.

Unfortunately the price to pay for pursuing a career that requires attending university, is amassing a large amount of student debt. It’s an issue that many previous generations didn’t have to contend with - because tuition fees were first introduced under Tony Blair’s Labour in 1998, and even then the fees were much lower.

Today, the average student leaves university with around £45,000 of debt, leaving young people with a tough decision to make as they consider their future prospects.

For many, becoming a homeowner in the UK is also just a pipe dream. There has been a huge increase in house prices in the UK over the last 10 years. Many people are unable to even think about getting on the property ladder until they enter their early to mid 30s.

Not that renting is necessarily any less of a headache. Just last week, news broke that the average monthly rent paid by tenants in the UK rose by 9% in the year to February, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Combined with rising energy bills, many young adults are being priced out of renting property in major cities where job opportunities lie.

There is also a greater proportion of younger workers in part-time, unstable or temporary jobs. But chasing employment is a steep and slippery slope into overpriced city-life. This is especially true in Birmingham and the wider region.

Previous ONS figures showed that Birmingham had the highest rate of unemployment in England and Wales - higher than cities including London and Manchester, and with the Birmingham City Council's financial woes, there will be concerns over the future of the city's employment landscape.

According to property website Zoopla, the average UK rent is £1,163 per month, while average mortgage repayments are £1,285 for first-time buyers with a 15% deposit.

And, with average house prices across the UK averaging at £284,691 (Land Registry) and salaries at £34,963, it now costs 8.14 times the annual salary to buy a house, compared to 2.8 times in 1971. 

Affordable housing needs to be more accessible for young people. This is why that over the next few months, along with other National World titles, we will be shining a light on young adults in Birmingham as they navigate the difficulties of life as part of the Peter Pan generation in their 20s and early 30s.