More than half of UK first-time buyers now receive financial support from family members to help purchase a home, with gifts, loans and inheritance becoming a significant source of housing funding, according to new 2026 research. Savills found that 53 per cent of first-time buyers receive direct financial support from family through gifts, loans or inheritance, with family gifts and loans accounting for £8.3 billion in 2025, rising to £11 billion when inheritance is included.
The figures show how the so-called 'Bank of Mum and Dad' has moved beyond a shorthand for occasional parental assistance and become a measurable feature of the UK housing market.
