More people in England now own homes than have a mortgage or rent them (2024)

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More people now own their homes outright than have a mortgage or rent them.

Figures show that 32.6 per cent of dwellings were owned outright in England in 2021, up from 30.7 per cent in 2011.

Another 28 per cent of properties are owned with a mortgage or loan, down four percentage points on a decade earlier.

And 20 per cent are privately rented, up 3.7 per cent, the Office for National Statistics said.

In addition, 17 per cent are classed as social housing.

Overall the figures showed there were 24.9 million dwellings across England in 2021, up 8.5 per cent in a decade. The most common type of accommodation was a semi-detached house, accounting for 30 per cent of all homes.

Flats were more common in London, however, while the number of terraced houses in the capital has dropped by more than 15,000 in recent years.

There were more empty homes recorded on census day 2021 than a decade earlier, but this could have been because Covid and lockdown restrictions led to students and renters moving back with their families.

There were 1.5 million unoccupied dwellings in England, with most (8 per cent) in London.

Experts said the findings illustrated an ageing society, with more than 11 million people in England and Wales now aged 65 or older, with half a million at least 90.

But they also highlight a stark generational divide in housing.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'The increased percentage of homes owned outright may seem surprising, but given our ageing population it could be explained by older workers looking to get their mortgages paid off before retirement.

'The percentage of homes owned outright grew in all areas except London – testament to its extremely high house prices.'

She added: 'While it is good to see more people have paid off their homes, it is also important to note that the percentage of people renting also continues to rise and this shows the battle many people have getting a toehold on the housing ladder.'

Home ownership among young people has almost halved since the 1980s, according to one recent study, as property prices have massively outpaced wage growth.

The situation has been made worse by an acute shortage of new building and the desire of many older people to stay in large family houses to provide their children with an inheritance.

Frank Young, of the Civitas think-tank, said: 'We are increasingly divided between a generation who own their own homes and have benefited from extraordinary growth and generations who will struggle to pay off mortgages before they retire – if they get on the housing ladder at all.'

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