67% drop in home ownership among young people

Published by Max Salsbury for 24dash.com in Housing and also in Communities, Finance

Home ownership among young people in England has fallen by a third over the last two decades, a new report has revealed.

The Chartered Institute of Housing's new findings show that 43 percent of people aged 25-34 owned their own home in 2012 - down from 67 percent in 1992.

The decline in home ownership is putting increasing pressure on private rented housing, which accounted for 4.1 million homes in England in 2011, up from 1.7 million two decades earlier.

CIH chief executive Grainia Long said: “For millions of young people, the dream of home ownership remains just that – an unachievable dream. The country’s chronic shortage of affordable homes to buy means they are being denied the same opportunities enjoyed by their parents and grandparents.

“In many parts of the country rising demand in the private rented sector is pushing both rent and house prices ever higher, making it even harder for young people to save for a deposit – while the deposit they need to get a mortgage becomes even larger.”

Overall home ownership dipped from 68 percent in 1992 to 64 percent last year. Among the 35-44 age group it has dropped from 79 percent to 63 percent, while for those aged 45-54 it was down from 79 percent to 71 percent.

But the CIH discovered that for older people home ownership is on the rise. Among the over 65s it jumped from 60 percent to 76 percent, while among those aged 55-64 it rose from 73 percent to 77 percent.

The figures were drawn from the Government’s Labour Force Surveys over the past 20 years, and are analysed in the CIH’s UK Housing Review 2013, produced in partnership with housing association Orbit.

It forms part of a new campaign from CIH called ‘Uncovering the true cost of housing’, which aims to define the problems behind the housing crisis.

Orbit's chief executive, Paul Tennant, said: “This review illustrates yet again the scale of the challenges we face in delivering the homes this country so desperately needs. Government must continue to do everything it can to support and encourage investment in housing, while we as organisations must innovate and collaborate to develop new models of supply.”