University students should remain in the family home if at all possible so they can save to buy their own property, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp has suggested. The 51-year-old star of Location, Location, Location and Love It Or List It says students can do themselves a favour by thinking early in life about home ownership.
Asked by Ruth Davidson on Times Radio whether now was a good time to buy a property, with property prices stuttering in the cost of living crisis, she said: "I think it’s just about doing what you can when you can, but I always say, if the one favour you can do to yourself is to think about it early, as early as you possibly can.
"If you choose to go to university, near your home, and you spend those three years living at home, if you’re able to do that, and it’s a big sacrifice to do that, but it can make an enormous difference. And all sorts of different things that you can do to enable you to save that deposit. And do it early. Because I see people really, really struggling now."
She added: "Don’t get me wrong. There are loads of people who don’t want to buy. I mean we have a weird, weird relationships with property in the UK where we think everybody wants to buy.
"There are some people who don’t, they don’t want the responsibility. They want to be able to make rapid lifestyle changes. And they want to rent. That is now incredibly difficult as well. But for those who do want to buy, it’s very hard."
Earlier this year, she sparked debate when she claimed that youngsters could afford to get on the property ladder by giving up luxuries like "easyJet, coffee, gym [and] Netflix". She said some people weren’t willing to make the sacrifices needed to buy property and revealed she was "enraged" when people said they couldn’t afford to make a purchase.
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