Lingnan University study finds only 26 per cent of parents are willing to assist their children to buy property - Scholars note unequal housing opportunities may have long-term implications for population structure and social mobility

Home ownership remains one of life’s most important decisions. A study conducted by Lingnan University’s School of Graduate Studies examined intergenerational housing support from the perspective of parents, and the results show that only about one in four (26 per cent) parents surveyed plan to provide financial assistance to their children to buy their home within the next five years, 37 per cent believe that subsidising their children who want to purchase property is not their responsibility, and nearly seven in ten (67 per cent) thought their children lacked the financial capacity to purchase a home independently and the government should provide more subsidised housing to help the younger generation buy their own homes. The study, Housing opportunities and family reciprocity: intergenerational support for young people and the role of housing and welfare policy in Hong Kong, was published in the latest issue of the internationally recognised Journal of Social Policy.

The research team comprised scholars from Lingnan University’s School of Graduate Studies, the University of Amsterdam, and University College London. Between 2020 and 2021, they conducted a random telephone survey of 1,012 parents living in the Hong Kong SAR with adult children aged 25 to 35, as well as in-depth interviews with nine parents. To capture the viewpoints of families from different socio-economic backgrounds, the study included private and public homeowners, and public rental housing (PRH) tenants.

Among parents who do propose to provide financial support, 32 per cent would consider giving cash directly, 48 per cent plan a combination of loans and gifts, and 14 per cent would prefer loans only. Regarding parents who do not plan to provide financial support, over half (56 per cent) would allow their children to continue to live with them as a form of non-financial support, 31 per cent would reduce their expectations of contributions to the household, and 31 per cent would provide childcare assistance for grandchildren. Nearly half (45 per cent) of parents agreed that the government has not in effect supported young adults to live independently, and 67 per cent hoped the government would increase the supply of subsidised housing so that their children could buy their own homes.

Some of the parents who were interviewed said that current public housing income limits are relatively low, disqualifying educated working professionals, and creating a dilemma where children ineligible for public housing cannot afford private housing. These parents tend to adopt a “loan, not gift” strategy to instil financial responsibility in their adult children, and to make them more self-reliant and prevent overdependence. Low-income parents, especially public housing tenants, tend to live with their children so as to manage living expenses in later life, and some families rely on their children’s contributions to pay household expenses.

Prof Maggie Lau Ka-wai, Research Associate Professor of the School of Graduate Studies and Programme Director of the Doctor of Policy Studies Programme at Lingnan University, said that in both public rental housing and owner-occupied homes, housing has long been a key pillar of household security and living standards. The survey finds that while lower-income public housing tenants have stronger financial incentives to save and keep their children living at home, many owner-occupiers feel uncertain about the future. Parents’ views and family strategies reflect a change in the role of housing within Hong Kong’s broader welfare system, suggesting that the responsibilities of families and the Government to provide housing security may need to be rebalanced.

She noted “Most respondents are aged between 51 and 70, and belong to Hong Kong’s post-war baby boom generation, when many people benefited from government housing policies in the 1980s and 1990s, and were able to buy homes. However, the findings show that although many parents believe they should help their children, they remain cautious about cash transfers, and only about one quarter said that they plan to help their children purchase a home. Most prefer to offer loans, or a combination of loans and partial subsidies, to help with the downpayment, which reflects the limited resources of many homeowners and public housing tenants approaching retirement, as well as their opinion that adult children should be responsible for themselves. Also, given that past policies facilitated home ownership, many parents think the Government has a duty to assist the younger generation facing housing difficulties, otherwise existing inequalities in housing tenure and asset distribution may persist across generations and even increase over time, further widening social disparities.”

Prof Lau added that the generations’ unequal housing opportunities have prolonged children counting on their parents for housing, placing financial pressure on those nearing retirement who hope to remain self-sufficient in old age. This may also delay young people’s plans for marriage and childbearing, with far-reaching implications for Hong Kong’s population structure and social mobility in the long term. She recommended that the Government take a more proactive role by increasing the supply of subsidised housing, such as the Home Ownership Scheme and Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership units, and by reviewing the retirement protection system to reduce older adults’ dependence on financial contributions from their children, thereby enabling family resources to be better used to provide upward mobility for the next generation.

For details of the full paper, please visit: Housing opportunities and family reciprocity: intergenerational support for young people and the role of housing and welfare policy in Hong Kong