
Almost 800,000 young adults are stuck living with their parents despite having university degrees, with more 'failed fledglings' returning to the nest since before the credit crunch, new figures show.

A total of 794,000 graduates live with their parents - more than the number of people still at home who left school at the age of 16 with only GCSEs.

The UK saw more children return to the nest last year than during the credit crunch. There was an increase of 150,000 20-34-year-olds living at home in the year after the economic downturn, but 180,000 more moved back in with their parents last year, taking the total of young adults at home to 3,350,000.

Surprisingly, almost two thirds of young adults living at home told a CreditExpert survey they were content with the situation, unlike a quarter of parents who say it has heaped stress on to them. A further eight per cent have been forced into debt because of the added cost of their children living with them.

There has been a 25 per cent increase in young adults moving home since 1996, with 667,000 more 20-34s at home then there was 18 years ago.

Of the 293,000 35-44-year-olds still living at home, three quarters are men, the Office for National Statistics figures show, suggesting that women are better at building a stable lives for themselves.

Rising house prices have also forced people home while they get together enough money to take out a mortgage.

Prices for first-time buyers went up 12 per cent in the last year - a £22,000 real-terms increase - taking the average sale to £204,000. This is the highest rate for people taking the first step on the housing ladder since 2010.

More students are also electing to live at home while they study because of the cost of rent at halls of residence. The average price for university accommodation is now £123.93 a week - up more than 50 per cent since 2006.

The proportion of students living at home differs across the UK, with 36 per cent of Northern Irish young adults still staying with their parents. It is far lower in London, where that figure is 22 per cent.

Almost 800,000 graduates are still living with their parents, more than the number of people doing so who left school at the age of 16

The number of young adults living at home has increased more rapidly in the last year than at any time since the credit crunch

Perhaps surprisingly, 62 per cent of young adults said they were happy living at home, with only four per cent unhappy

Meanwhile, a quarter of parents say providing for an older child is adding stress to their lives, while right per cent say it has forced them into debt

House prices for first-time buyers has increased 12 per cent in the last year - up £22,000 - taking the average price to £204,000

More students are electing to study at home because of an increase in rent for halls of residence, which is up to 50 per cent more expensive than in 2006

Northern Ireland has the highest proportion of children living at home, while London has the lowest with 22 per cent

The UK fares reasonably well compared to nations on the continent, particularly Italy, Portugal and parts of eastern Europe where the proportion of young adults living with their parents tops 40 per cent

Most younger people living with their parents are doing so to save money for a mortgage or because renting is too expensive

Around 29 per cent of 18-29-year-olds said they planned to fly the nest within the next year, said a survey by CreditExpert.