As mortgages and properties become harder to acquire seemingly day by day, the number of couples getting married is diminishing at an alarming rate.
It appears that the old tradition of a young couple getting married and buying a house together as soon as possible after their wedding is a thing of the past. Cheap home insurance is not usually taken out to protect wedding gifts these days, which is a pity because a lot of the old traditions may die out if the slump in weddings continues.
For instance it is very rare these days to see a bride carried over the threshold of a new home, in fact it seems to be disappearing completely. Interestingly enough the tradition of carrying the bride into the wedding home goes back to Roman times when it was considered the worst luck of all for a new bride to trip over the entrance to her new home. Hence the groom carried her over; little is said about how many grooms actually fell over with their bride in their arms!
Research done by a mortgage company reveals that over the last five years 37% of first time buyers were single and that only 29% of people bought with their married partner. The figures are important as it is the first time since records began that single first time buyers have outnumbered married couples.
Looking back to the 1970′s, over 85% of first time buyers were married couples and only 1 in 10 sales were to a single party. Fast forward to the 1980′s and the change starts showing, as did social acceptance of couples living together out of wedlock. In 1982 almost 2 in 10 sales were to single people and the trend then started increasing.
The 1990′s saw 46% of first time buyers being married couples, 32% single and now 19% of first time buyers were couples who were not married. The modern day research now shows that the axis has turned completely and married couples are in the minority for the first time.
The social trend has had an impact on building trends also. The turn of the century has seen builders and property developers concentrate on building flats and apartments rather than family homes. As a consequence family homes are now more difficult to find and therefore more expensive to buy. Which could mean the trend away from marriage may well increase.