It’s old news that saving for a house deposit is a near-impossible task for many of us in this dire economic climate.
You need a small fortune to even think about becoming a homeowner these days – especially if you’re in London or the surrounding areas – yet 45% of the population has only managed to put away £10,000 or less in their deposit fund.
The outlook is bad enough that those of us yet to get our foot on the property ladder are now so desperate to save enough for this down payment, that we’re even willing to give up one major thing.
No, it’s not avocado toast or Starbucks for you sceptics out there. It’s something almost all of us have… Sex.
More than a quarter of Brits would give up sex of any kind for an entire year if it meant they’d finally have enough for a house deposit.
And if that doesn’t tell you how bleak it is for Gen Z and Millennials, we don’t know what will.
This is coupled with the fact that young people in 2021 were half as likely to own their own home than those 30 years ago.
In the study by audio erotica platform Bloom Stories, which surveyed more than 2,000 UK adults, it was Gen Z who were the most likely age group to forgo sex for this reason; half would gladly sacrifice a romp in the sheets if they could afford a new home as a result.
It’s not all that surprising though, since the National Centre for Social Research found that 80% of Gen Z are desperate to own a property. Given it will take the average Londoner 37.5 years to save a 10% deposit in their area, is it any wonder?
About a third of this younger generation would even sack sex off for a pay rise at work, while just over a quarter would abstain if it meant getting a promotion.
This all aligns with the idea that those of us in our mid to early twenties just don’t care as much about doing the deed as those who came before us.
Bloom Stories found that older age groups tended to value sex over financial incentives. Among those aged 35 to 44, 32% would choose to remain sexually active over a house deposit, pay rise, or promotion.
This figure climbed higher still when it came to those 45 and older, with just under half opting to make love over being a homeowner.
When it comes to the divide between genders, men were significantly more likely to refuse any trade-offs for sex.
For 45% of men, they couldn’t live without intercourse for a year regardless of the reason, while only 23% of women felt the same.
But it could also be the case that the 34% of Brits who wouldn’t give up fun between the sheets are part of the 76% of respondents in a Share To Buy survey who believe buying a home – especially as a single person – is unattainable in 2024’s market.
We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not going to be an easy journey saving for a deposit – sex or no sex.
‘The absolute minimum for a house deposit is 5% here really, although there is one lender offering a 0% deposit mortgage if you tick some other eligibility boxes,’ Alex Morris, mortgage broker at Clifton Private Finance, previously told Metro.co.uk.
But for a flat priced at £419,800, a 5% deposit still equals £20,990.
If abstaining from sex could get us a house deposit, honestly we’d probably give it a whirl too, but the sad reality is it’s just going to be a whole lot of scrimping and saving.
With disposable incomes being stretched all the time, it could be years before you hit your savings goal – and since an orgasm doesn’t cost a penny, you might as well enjoy.
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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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