People who have children in the Millennial generation will be more likely to help their son or daughter with money for a home purchase, according to a recent survey by the consumer lender loanDepot.

The survey determined that 17 percent of the parents of Millennials expect to help their children with a home purchase in the future. This marks a 31 percent increase when compared to the 13 percent who said they assisted their children in the past five years.

Of the parents who said they expect to help with the purchase, half said they will contribute toward the down payment. Twenty percent said they would either cover the closing costs or cosign the loan.

"Through the survey, 75 percent of Millennial-age homebuyers who received financial support from their parents said that assistance made it possible for them to buy a home," said Dave Norris, president and chief operations officer at loanDepot. "Without that financial support, it's likely the pool of Millennial first time homebuyers would be even smaller today."

According to the National Association of Realtors, Millennials are becoming more of a noticeable presence in the housing market. Buyers who were 34 years old or younger made up the largest share of homebuyers in 2014 at 32 percent and in 2013 in 31 percent. However, the organization also says this generation has had more difficulty saving up for a home purchase due to student loan debt or limited employment opportunities.

The loanDepot survey found that parents are most likely to dip into their savings to help a child buy a home, although they are increasingly likely to use alternate options. Sixty-seven percent said they would use their savings in the future, while 72 percent used this option in the past five years.

Eight percent of parents said they would refinance their current home, twice as many as in the past five years. Another 8 percent said they would get an unsecured personal loan, up from 3 percent in the past five years. Four percent said they would borrow from a 401k, up from 2 percent in the past five years.

Parents were less likely to use proceeds from selling equities to help their children with a purchase. While 5 percent said they would do so, this was a decrease from 8 percent in recent years.

Opinions on how the monetary assistance was to be viewed differed widely between parents and children. Sixty-eight percent of parents said they would consider the money a gift, but only 29 percent of Millennial children said they would view the money this way. Millennials were more likely to consider the money a loan to be repaid, with 36 percent saying they agreed with this arrangement compared to only 11 percent of parents.

Seventeen percent of parents said they will consider the funds a partial or total inheritance, while only 7 percent of Millennials thought so. Nineteen percent of Millennials said they don't expect to either receive money from their parents or pay them as part of a home purchase.

Assistance with the down payment remains the most common form of assistance, but many more parents expect to help in other ways in the future. In the past five years, 65 percent of parents assisting their children with a home purchase did so through help with the down payment, with almost 20 percent paying 90 percent or more. In the future, 50 percent said they would assist with the down payment and only 8 percent said they would pay 90 percent or more.

More than half of the parental respondents said they expect they can help their children with a future home purchase by continuing to let their children live with them. Thirty-three percent said their children will save money while they continue to live at home, up from 11 percent in the past five years. Twenty-two percent said they expect a child to move back in with them in order to save money for a home, up from 8 percent in the past five years.

Eighteen percent of parents said they will help pay down a child's student loans in the future, a 7 percent increase from the past five years. Thirty percent said they will pay other expenses related to the purchase, compared to 25 percent in the past five years.

Parents also said they expect to help with their child's future home purchase by helping with closing costs (20 percent), co-signing the mortgage (20 percent), and helping to pay the rent for some time (8 percent). Respondents were able to choose more than one way they expect to assist their children.

Asked how they expect to save money for a home purchase, most Millennial respondents—39 percent—said they will cut down on entertainment expenses or eat out less frequently. Sixteen percent said they will live with their parents or move back in with them. Six percent said they saved money from their job, and another 6 percent said they either got a second job or asked for a raise.

Less popular options included selling personal items (5 percent) or asking for money for a home purchase in lieu of wedding or holiday gifts (4 percent). Only 1 percent took out a loan, while another 1 percent said they didn't need a down payment to buy their home.

"Our new survey confirms most Millennials plan to own a home someday, and their parents are more than supportive of their efforts," said Norris. "Their interest in homeownership will likely pick up once they start their own families, reduce debt, and have been working long enough to earn a decent income and save money."

The results of the survey were based on the responses of 1,000 interviews with parents of Millennial children and another 1,000 interviews of adults between the ages of 18 and 38.