Home Ownership in England and Wales Falls for the First Time Since 1918
| Date Published | 4/19/2013 |
| Author | Marja Hoek-Smit |
| Theme | Housing Finance and the Economy, Housing Finance Policy |
| Country | United Kingdom |
The National Office of Statistics of the
United Kingdom published a report today on long term home-ownership trends in
England and Wales, as part of the 2011 census analysis. The key points of the
report are:
- In 1918 the
majority, or 77%, of households in England and Wales rented, with the remaining
in ownership.
- From 1953
ownership started to increase at a faster rate than in previous decades and by
1971 there was an equal percentage of households owning and renting.
- Ownership
continued to increase, reaching a peak of 69% in 2001, however in the last
decade it has fallen to 64%.
- Within the
rental sector policies following the World Wars impacted on the percentage of
those socially renting. In 1918 just 1% of households socially rented and this
reached a peak of 31% in 1981.
- Between 2001
and 2011, the number of households buying their homes through a mortgage fell
by 749,000. Some factors that might have impacted on mortgage buyers are: high
house prices, low wage growth and tighter lending requirements.
- The
percentage of households renting increased in all English regions and in Wales
in the decade to 2011. London had the highest percentage of renters, accounting
for 50.4% of households in the region.
Link to the full report