House prices in Sheffield: Are you worried about the next generation getting onto the housing ladder?

House prices continue to rise across the UK, with Zoopla figures recently unveiling the annual income needed to buy a house in the city had jumped £2,000 in just one both.

Asking prices for prospective buyers continue to go up year-on-year, despite a little drop in prices in the first quarter of 2023. The repeated rise is, unsurprisingly, a concern for many young people, but it is often suggested in the media that older generations do not think it is any worse than they had.

The Star decided to put this to the test, asking our Facebook followers: "Are you worried about the next generation getting on the housing ladder?" This is what they said.

Our post received more than 370 comments from readers who shared their thoughts. Anjum Ahmed said: "The only way to do it is save into a lifetime isa from 16 then you may have a chance."

Anjum is referencing the Lifetime Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) now offered by many banks, in which the government will deposit a sum equal to 25 per cent (or a maximum of £1,000) of what you saved each year. According to the gov.uk website, you can only deposit £4,000 into a Lifetime ISA each tax year.

Responding to Anjum, Mary Butler said: "That's a late start 16. To stand a chance need to start an isa from birth unfortunately putting away as much as possible for future."

Andy Mitchell said: "Yes, it's concerned me for years.Happily my daughter didn't struggle too much, but it's always a worry for young people wanting to own a place of their own."

Sally Fisher simply put: "Yes. They don’t stand a chance."

Adrian Adams left a slightly more optimistic comment. He said: "They won’t get on at this rate. But good news for them house prices will subside. People can’t afford interest rates."

Interest rates were raised for the 13th time in a row by the Bank of England last month, which has worsened concerns for many homeowners for whether they will be able to continue to pay their mortgages. As indicated by Garry Burgin, who said: "No...I'm worried about staying on it myself."

Not everyone in the comments section was terribly concerned. Alan Griffiths said he was worried about it in London, where he lives, but "less so in South Yorkshire". Katrina Cartwright also wasn't concerned. She said: "No, each generation manages in their own sweet way."

Others were more straightforward with their opinions. Kevin Eason said: "No, should do what we did work hard, prioritise your expenditure and save, no gym contracts, no mobile phones, no Netflix subscription and such, and no pregnancy until you are married."

This rhetoric came to prominence thanks to TV presenter Kirsty Allsop, but has been heavily criticised. In fact, in 2022, Nathan Bickerton worked out you would need to go 1,616 years without a Netflix subscription in order to afford the average house price in Yorkshire and The Humber.

Julia Mitchell said: "No. They choose how to spend their money. Tattoos, designer handbags, lip fillers, botox, brand new cars on finance, luxury foreign holidays, not prepared to start small, first home has to be a four bedroomed detached, all new contents etc. None of these will help them save for a deposit. It's about priorities. Our daughter did things differently and started on the property ladder two years ago aged 24. You can't have everything in life."

It seems this debate will continue to rage on...