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.)

双语资讯

(Agencies)

当作业散布在饭桌上，玩具堆积在沙发上时，你或许会祈求多一点空间。

并不是只有你才这样。今日的一份报告显示，英国近三分之一的父母称他们感觉家中拥挤，但是没钱搬迁到更大的房子。

29%的父母称“他们的房屋小得无法容纳他们的家庭”——在34岁以下父母中，这个比例上升到40%。

据《每日邮报》及全局信托集团的数字部门FindaProperty.com网站称，四分之一的孩子“被迫共享”卧室。

房地产分析师萨曼莎•巴登说：“支付能力对家庭来说始终是关键，如今一套三居室房的平均价格约为19万3千英镑。”

LV投资公司近期的报告也发现，许多“空间紧缺的父母”只能勉强挤进去他们年轻时候最完美的两居室房，但已经没有空间留给三个左右的孩子。

已经成人的子女承担不起离开家的花费，这也恶化了英国家庭“大拥挤”的问题。

一个大小合适

这份含官方数据的报告昨日由地政局发布。报告显示，除伦敦之外，英国所有地区的房屋价格都大幅下降，然而数百万民众依然买不起。

东北部地区房市遭受的打击最为严重，房屋均价降到七年来的最低水平：10万英镑以下。

与此同时，继2011年上升2.8%之后，首都伦敦的房价接近史上最高峰：34万5298英镑。