英1/3父母蜗居 1/4孩子无单独卧室

If homework is strewn across the kitchen table and toys are piling up around the sofa, you probably wish there was a bit more space.

You are not alone. Nearly a third of parents say they feel squeezed into their homes but cannot afford to move to a bigger property, a report reveals today.

Twenty-nine percent say ‘their property is too small to accommodate the size of their family’ – rising to 40 percent for those 34 and under.

One in four children is ‘forced to share’ a bedroom, according to the FindaProperty.com website, part of a digital division of the Daily Mail and General Trust.

Property analyst Samantha Baden said: ‘Affordability remains a key issue for families, with the average cost of a three-bedroom home around £193,000.’

A recent report, from investment firm LV, also found that many ‘space-starved parents’ are squashed into a two-bedroom home which was perfect when they were a young couple, but has no space for three or so children.

Grown-up offspring who cannot afford to leave home are also adding to the problem facing families in Britain’s ‘big squeeze’.

For a home to be the correct size, which means it is not overcrowded, parents must have their own bedroom. Children under ten can share, as well as same-sex children between ten and 20. Anyone over 21 also needs their own room.

The report comes as official figures, published yesterday by the Land Registry, reveal house prices are falling sharply in every region except London, although they remain unaffordable for millions.

The worst-hit area is the North East, where average house prices have fallen to below £100,000 for the first time in seven years.

By comparison, house prices in the capital are close to an all-time high of £345,298 following a rise of 2.8 percent in 2011.

(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)