VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As real estate prices in Vancouver continue to soar, the children of baby boomers are turning to a familiar source to finance their first homes: mom and dad.

That’s according to a new survey by Mustel Group and Sotheby’s International Real Estate Canada.

“Many people are now dependant on either getting loans or, in the case of living inheritance gifts from their parents in order to be able to get into the market, even at modest levels,” says Sotheby’s President and CEO Brad Henderson.

The survey finds over a third of baby boomers in Vancouver are using a living inheritance to finance their kids’ home purchases.

Despite the high real estate prices, Henderson claims people still consider real estate to be a solid investment.

“People still feel that it is a good store of wealth, if not an investment. And many of the people that we surveyed found that it was going to be as good, if not better, than some… typical financial investments,” he says.

Nearly half of those who are getting receiving a living inheritance say they would not be able to buy real estate without that windfall.