The distribution of all owner-occupier households in England in 2024 varied per age group, as well as the type of home financing. The older the age group, the larger the share of owner-occupier homeowners who purchased their home outright. A share of 2.1 percent of own outright homeowners were between the ages of 25 to 34, whereas a share of 62.1 percent of own outright homeowners were aged 65 and over. Although this is the case, the largest share of homeowners who purchased their house with a mortgage was in the age range of 35 to 44 years old.

UK adults aged 35 to 44 were most likely to have a mortgage loan in 2022, with more than half of the respondents in a nationally representative survey sharing that they held one in their own name or joint names. The average for the country stood at 28 percent at that time. Among older generations, the percentage of mortgage holders declined, as these were more likely to have already paid off their mortgage.

This statistic displays the distribution of average amount of debt resulting from loans in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2017, by age group. Adults aged between 35 and 44 years of age had the highest amount of debt in loans, with an average of over 2.6 thousand British pounds. Those aged over 75 years had the lowest average debt in personal loans, with an average of 240 British pounds in 2017.

Average weekly household expenditure on goods and services in the UK. Data are shown by region, age, income (including equivalised) group (deciles and quintiles), economic status, socio-economic class, housing tenure, output area classification, urban and rural areas (Great Britain only), place of purchase and household composition.

About 36 percent of homeowners in England were aged 65 and above, which contrasts sharply with younger age groups, particularly those under 35. Young adults between 25 and 35, made up 15 percent of homeowners and had a dramatically lower homeownership rate. The disparity highlights the growing challenges faced by younger generations in entering the property market, a trend that has significant implications for wealth distribution and social mobility. Barriers to homeownership for young adults The path to homeownership has become increasingly difficult for young adults in the UK. A 2023 survey revealed that mortgage affordability was the greatest obstacle to property purchase. This represents a 39 percent increase from 2021, reflecting the impact of rising house prices and mortgage rates. Despite these challenges, one in three young adults still aspire to get on the property ladder as soon as possible, though many have put their plans on hold. The need for additional financial support from family, friends, and lenders has become more prevalent, with one in five young adults acknowledging this necessity. Regional disparities and housing supply The housing market in England faces regional challenges, with North West England and the West Midlands experiencing the largest mismatch between housing supply and demand in 2023. This imbalance is evident in the discrepancy between new homes added to the housing stock and the number of new households formed. London, despite showing signs of housing shortage, has seen the largest difference between homes built and households formed. The construction of new homes has been volatile, with a significant drop in 2020, a rebound in 2021 and a gradual decline until 2024.

In 2024, the average age of recent first-time buyers in London was slightly higher than the England average. Across the UK, first-time buyers accounted for approximately 290,000 home sales. First-time buyer prices and mortgages In London, the average value of a mortgage for first-time buyers was far higher than all other regions in the UK. Apart from the initial cost of a down payment, those that can afford to, see monthly payment savings against those renting. In certain parts of the country, annual savings of buying against renting saw first time buyers amounted to over two thousand British pounds. Help to buy To encourage first-time buyers, the UK government started the "Help to buy" scheme. The scheme sees people saving for a first-time home receive a 25% bonus to their savings when purchasing a house valued at 250,000 British pounds (450,000 British pounds in London). Between December 2015 and March 2018, the North West of England saw the highest number of Help to buy ISA bonuses paid.

Expenditure on rent by renters and mortgages by mortgage holders, by region and age from the Living Costs and Food Survey for the financial year ending 2022. Data is presented as a proportion of total expenditure and a proportion of disposable income.

In 2024, students graduating from English universities will have incurred an average of 48,470 British pounds of student loan debt, compared with 37,360 pounds in Wales, 25,730 pounds in Northern Ireland, and around 16,680 pounds in Scotland.

This statistic displays the average household amount outstanding on mortgages from 2006 to 2019 in the United Kingdom (UK). As displayed, the average outstanding amount went from 103,657 British pounds per household to 142,183 British pounds. Overall the graph shows a steady increase in the amount owed per household on average.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been running continuously since 1992 to meet the information needs of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). It is almost wholly funded by DWP. The FRS collects information from a large, and representative sample of private households in the United Kingdom (prior to 2002, it covered Great Britain only). The interview year runs from April to March.The focus of the survey is on income, and how much comes from the many possible sources (such as employee earnings, self-employed earnings or profits from businesses, and dividends; individual pensions; state benefits, including Universal Credit and the State Pension; and other sources such as savings and investments). Specific items of expenditure, such as rent or mortgage, Council Tax and water bills, are also covered.Many other topics are covered and the dataset has a very wide range of personal characteristics, at the adult or child, family and then household levels. These include education, caring, childcare and disability. The dataset also captures material deprivation, household food security and (new for 2021/22) household food bank usage. The FRS is a national statistic whose results are published on the gov.uk website. It is also possible to create your own tables from FRS data, using DWP’s Stat Xplore tool. Further information can be found on the gov.uk Family Resources Survey webpage. Safe Room Access FRS data In addition to the standard End User Licence (EUL) version, Safe Room access datasets, containing unrounded data and additional variables, are also available for FRS from 2005/06 onwards - see SN 7196, where the extra contents are listed. The Safe Room version also includes secure access versions of the Households Below Average Income (HBAI) and Pensioners' Incomes (PI) datasets. The Safe Room access data are currently only available to UK HE/FE applicants and for access at the UK Data Archive's Safe Room at the University of Essex, Colchester. Prospective users of the Safe Room access version of the FRS/HBAI/PI will need to fulfil additional requirements beyond those associated with the EUL datasets. Full details of the application requirements are available from Guidance on applying for the Family Resources Survey: Secure Access.FRS, HBAI and PIThe FRS underpins the related Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which focuses on poverty in the UK, and the related Pensioners' Incomes (PI) dataset. The EUL versions of HBAI and PI are held under SNs 5828 and 8503 respectively. The secure access versions are held within the Safe Room FRS study under SN 7196 (see above). The Family Resources Survey aims to: support the monitoring of the social security programme; support the costing and modelling of changes to national insurance contributions and social security benefits; provide better information for the forecasting of benefit expenditure. For the fifth edition of the 1995-1996 survey, the new grossing regime, GROSS 3, has been included. Main Topics: Household characteristics (eg. size, tenure type); income and benefit receipt; tenure and housing costs; assets and savings; informal care (given and received); occupation and employment. Standard Measures Standard Occupational Classification The additional derived water and sewerage variables include : a) the water company and sewerage company; b) total annual estimated water consumption in cubic metres; c) estimated water consumption over the summer (taken to be May to August) in cubic metres; d) estimated water consumption over the remainder of the year in cubic metres. Multi-stage stratified random sample Face-to-face interview 1995 1996 ABSENTEEISM ADMINISTRATIVE AREAS AGE AGRICULTURE APARTMENTS APPOINTMENT TO JOB ATTITUDES BEDROOMS BONDS BONUS PAYMENTS CAR SHARING CARE OF DEPENDANTS CARE OF THE DISABLED CARE OF THE ELDERLY CENTRAL HEATING CHARITABLE ORGANIZA... CHILD BENEFITS CHILD CARE CHILD DAY CARE CHILD MINDING CHILD WORKERS CHILDREN COAL COLOUR TELEVISION R... COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS COMMUTING COMPANY CARS COMPUTERS CONSUMER GOODS CONSUMPTION COSTS COUNCIL TAX Consumption and con... DAY NURSERIES DEBTS DENTISTS DIESEL OIL DISABLED CHILDREN DISABLED PERSONS DISMISSAL DISTANCE MEASUREMENT DOMESTIC APPLIANCES DOMESTIC RESPONSIBI... ECONOMIC ACTIVITY ECONOMIC VALUE EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND EDUCATIONAL FEES EDUCATIONAL GRANTS EDUCATIONAL INSTITU... ELDERLY ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY EMPLOYEES EMPLOYMENT EMPLOYMENT HISTORY EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES ENDOWMENT ASSURANCE ETHNIC GROUPS EXPENDITURE FAMILIES FAMILY MEMBERS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FINANCIAL RESOURCES FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOOD FOSSIL FUELS FOSTER PARENTS FRIENDS FRINGE BENEFITS FUEL OILS FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT FURNISHED ACCOMMODA... FURTHER EDUCATION Family life and mar... GAS SUPPLY GENDER GIFTS GRANTS HEADS OF HOUSEHOLD HEARING IMPAIRMENTS HEATING SYSTEMS HIGHER EDUCATION HOLIDAYS HOME BASED WORK HOME OWNERSHIP HOME SHARING HOURS OF WORK HOUSEHOLD BUDGETS HOUSEHOLD HEAD S OC... HOUSEHOLDS HOUSING HOUSING FACILITIES HOUSING FINANCE HOUSING TENURE INCOME INCOME TAX INDUSTRIES INSURANCE INSURANCE PREMIUMS INTEREST FINANCE INVESTMENT INVESTMENT RETURN Income JOB DESCRIPTION JOB HUNTING LANDLORDS LAVATORIES LEAVE LOANS LODGERS MANAGERS MARITAL STATUS MARRIED WOMEN MARRIED WOMEN WORKERS MATERNITY LEAVE MATERNITY PAY MEALS MEDICAL PRESCRIPTIONS MILK MORTGAGE PROTECTION... MORTGAGES MOTOR VEHICLES NEIGHBOURS OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS OCCUPATIONS ONE PARENT FAMILIES OVERTIME PART TIME COURSES PART TIME EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIPS BUSINESS PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS PETROL PHYSICALLY DISABLED... PHYSICIANS PRICES PRIVATE EDUCATION PRIVATE PERSONAL PE... PRIVATE SCHOOLS PROFITS PUBLIC TRANSPORT QUALIFICATIONS RATES REBATES REDUNDANCY REDUNDANCY PAY RENTED ACCOMMODATION RENTS RESIDENTIAL MOBILITY RETIREMENT ROOM SHARING ROOMS ROYALTIES SAVINGS SCHOLARSHIPS SCHOOL MEALS SCHOOL MILK PROVISION SCHOOLCHILDREN SCHOOLS SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT SECONDARY EDUCATION SECONDARY SCHOOLS SELF EMPLOYED SEWAGE DISPOSAL AND... SHARES SHIFT WORK SICK LEAVE SICK PAY SICK PERSONS SOCIAL HOUSING SOCIAL SECURITY BEN... SOCIAL SECURITY CON... SOCIAL SERVICES SOCIAL SUPPORT SOCIO ECONOMIC STATUS SOLID FUEL HEATING SPECIAL EDUCATION STATE EDUCATION STATE RETIREMENT PE... STRIKES STUDENT HOUSING STUDENT LOANS STUDENTS STUDY SUBSIDIARY EMPLOYMENT SUPERVISORS Social stratificati... TAX RELIEF TAXATION TELEPHONES TELEVISION RECEIVERS TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT TERMINATION OF SERVICE TIED HOUSING TOP MANAGEMENT TRAINING TRANSPORT TRAVEL UNEARNED INCOME UNEMPLOYED UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS UNFURNISHED ACCOMMO... VIDEO RECORDERS VISION IMPAIRMENTS VOLUNTARY WORK WAGES WATER SUPPLY INDUSTRY WIDOWED WORKING MOTHERS WORKING WOMEN property and invest...

This statistic displays the share of adults in the Untied Kingdom (UK) that outright own their home in 2020, by age group. There is a clear correlation between age and home ownership with 76 percent of those between 65 and 74 years owning their dwelling outright. Among adults aged between 18 and 24 only one percent own their home outright. A similar trend is observed when it comes to home ownership by age group.

To obtain a mortgage, first-time homebuyers in the United Kingdom (UK) need to save a deposit amounting to about 19 percent of the property purchase price. The higher the property value and the loan amount, the higher the deposit. In 2023, the average first-time buyer deposit in the UK was about 53,414 British pounds, but in the most expensive region, Greater London, the deposit amount was more than double. The share of the deposit was also much higher than in other regions in the UK. How has the house price for first-time buyers changed over time? Housing bought by first-time buyers has become increasingly more expensive since 2000, making it harder for renters to get on the property ladder. By 2023, the average house price had tripled. The price also varied in different regions, with the North East being the least expensive and Greater London – the priciest. Which are the most affordable areas for first-time buyers? While housing in certain areas can be pricy, this does not necessarily make it unaffordable, as the standard of living may also be higher. In 2021, the most affordable towns for first-time buyers were found in the North West region (Burnley) and Scotland (East Ayshire, North Ayshire, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire).

For the past decade, buying a home in the UK has been more affordable than renting one, when only considering the monthly costs. The renting versus buying gap fluctuated during the period and in 2016, it reached its highest value of 131 British pounds. In 2023, the monthly costs for a first-time buyer were 1,231 British pounds, compared to 1,258 British pounds for renters. Rental growth vs house price growth Housing costs in the UK have been on an uprise, with both renting and buying a home increasingly unreachable. Though the monthly costs of buying have consistently been lower in the past decade, house price growth has been much stronger than rental growth since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, buyers have been affected by the aggressive mortgage rate hikes, making acquiring their first home even less affordable. Barriers to homeownership Buying a home is not straightforward. For younger (18-40) potential first-time buyers, there are a number of barriers. Approximately one in three first-time buyers point out that raising a deposit was the main obstacle. Other reasons stopping buyers were not being able to take out a mortgage on their current income and poor credit ratings. Unsurprisingly, the highest share of people who buy a home with a mortgage was in the age group of 45 to 55-year-olds.

When comparing the mortgage or rental costs incurred by owners with mortgage, private renters and social renters in England, private renters pay a considerably larger share of their income than the other two groups. While owner occupiers with mortgages paid approximately 18.7 percent of their income on mortgage in 2024, private renters paid 34 percent, or more than one third. In terms of average monthly costs, renting a three-bedroom house is more expensive than buying.

In the 3rd quarter of 2024, the debt of households in the United Kingdom amounted to 120 percent of their income. This indicator shows the average level of indebtedness of the the general population and their ability to repay their debts. The total value of household debt (total liabilities and loans to households) has increased annually since 2000. Debt to income ratio increased during the pandemic As we have seen here, households have been decreasing their indebtedness levels in the past years. However, the volume of new consumer lending actually soared between 2022 and 2024. Meanwhile, the growth rate of mortgages in the UK has remained lower these past years, but it has also shown an increase on amount of lending.

Indebtedness in Europe The household debt of many countries in Europe as a share of their disposable income in 2024 was over 100 percent. That was mostly the case for Northern and Western European countries, such as Norway, the Netherlands, and Denmark. Germany and Austria were some of the largest exceptions, as they were among the few countries in that part of Europe with households' debt representing less than 80 percent of hteir income.

In 2022, house price growth in the UK slowed, after a period of decade-long increase. Nevertheless, in August 2024, prices reached a new peak, with the average home costing close to 290,000 British pounds. That figure refers to all property types, including detached, semi-detached, terraced houses, and flats and maisonettes. Compared to other European countries, the UK had some of the highest house prices. How have UK house prices increased over the last 10 years? Property prices have risen dramatically over the past decade. According to the UK house price index, the average house price has grown by over 50 percent since 2015. This price development has led to the gap between the cost of buying and renting a property to close. In 2023, buying a three-bedroom house in the UK was no longer more affordable than renting one. Consequently, Brits have become more likely to rent longer and push off making a house purchase until they have saved up enough for a down payment and achieved the financial stability required to make the step. What caused the decline in house prices in 2022? House prices are affected by multiple factors, such as mortgage rates, supply, and demand on the market. For nearly a decade, the UK experienced uninterrupted house price growth as a result of strong demand and a chronic undersupply. Homebuyers who purchased a property at the peak of the housing boom in July 2022 paid 14 percent more compared to what they would have paid a year before. Additionally, 2022 saw the most dramatic increase in mortgage rates in recent history. Between December 2021 and December 2022, the 10-year fixed mortgage rate doubled, adding further strain to prospective homebuyers. As a result, the market cooled, leading to a correction in pricing.

In 2024, approximately 65 percent of all housing in England was owner-occupied. This share declined notably since the early 2000's, as house prices gradually grew and affordability declined. In 2021, mortgage interest rates soared, leading to even lower homebuyer sentiment.

Portugal, Canada, and the United States were the countries with the highest house price to income ratio in 2023. In all three countries, the index exceeded 130 index points, while the average for all OECD countries stood at 117.5 index points. The index measures the development of housing affordability and is calculated by dividing nominal house price by nominal disposable income per head, with 2015 set as a base year when the index amounted to 100. An index value of 120, for example, would mean that house price growth has outpaced income growth by 20 percent since 2015. How have house prices worldwide changed since the COVID-19 pandemic? House prices started to rise gradually after the global financial crisis (2007–2008), but this trend accelerated with the pandemic. The countries with advanced economies, which usually have mature housing markets, experienced stronger growth than countries with emerging economies. Real house price growth (accounting for inflation) peaked in 2022 and has since lost some of the gain. Although, many countries experienced a decline in house prices, the global house price index shows that property prices in 2023 were still substantially higher than before COVID-19. Renting vs. buying In the past, house prices have grown faster than rents. However, the home affordability has been declining notably, with a direct impact on rental prices. As people struggle to buy a property of their own, they often turn to rental accommodation. This has resulted in a growing demand for rental apartments and soaring rental prices.

In the presented European countries, the homeownership rate extended from 42 percent in Switzerland to as much as 96 percent in Albania. Countries with more mature rental markets, such as France, Germany, the UK and Switzerland, tended to have a lower homeownership rate compared to the frontier countries, such as Lithuania or Slovakia. The share of house owners among the population of all 27 European countries has remained relatively stable over the past few years. Average cost of housing Countries with lower homeownership rates tend to have higher house prices. In 2023, the average transaction price for a house was notably higher in Western and Northern Europe than in Eastern and Southern Europe. In Austria - one of the most expensive European countries to buy a new dwelling in - the average price was three times higher than in Greece. Looking at house price growth, however, the most expensive markets recorded slower house price growth compared to the mid-priced markets. Housing supply With population numbers rising across Europe, the need for affordable housing continues. In 2023, European countries completed between one and six housing units per 1,000 citizens, with Ireland, Poland, and Denmark responsible heading the ranking. One of the major challenges for supplying the market with more affordable homes is the rising construction costs. In 2021 and 2022, housing construction costs escalated dramatically due to soaring inflation, which has had a significant effect on new supply.