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.

This statistic illustrates the home ownership rate among the total population of the United Kingdom (UK) between 2007 and 2018. During that timeframe, the home ownership rate oscillated between approximately 63 to 73 percent of the total population.

Home Ownership Rate in the United Kingdom decreased to 64.50 percent in 2023 from 64.70 percent in 2022. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Home Ownership Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

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.

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.

Homeownership in England showed a stark generational divide in 2024. About 78 percent of those aged 65 and above lived in an owner-occupied home, which contrasts sharply with younger age groups, particularly those under 35. Less than half of 25 to 35 year-olds lived in an owner-occupied home. 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.

Quarterly and historical data on UK households by housing tenure and combined economic activity status of household members.

Number of new residential property sales in England and Wales, by property type and administrative geographies. Quarterly rolling annual data. Formerly HPSSA dataset 7.

Median price paid for existing residential property in England and Wales, by property type and administrative geographies. Quarterly rolling annual data. Formerly HPSSA dataset 11.

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.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) is a continuous national survey commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Community and Local Government (MHCLG) that collects information about people's housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. The EHS brings together two previous survey series into a single fieldwork operation: the English House Condition Survey (EHCS) (available from the UK Data Archive under GN 33158) and the Survey of English Housing (SEH) (available under GN 33277). The EHS covers all housing tenures. The information obtained through the survey provides an accurate picture of people living in the dwelling, and their views on housing and their neighbourhoods. The survey is also used to inform the development and monitoring of the Ministry's housing policies. Results from the survey are also used by a wide range of other users including other government departments, local authorities, housing associations, landlords, academics, construction industry professionals, consultants, and the general public.

The EHS has a complex multi-stage methodology consisting of two main elements; an initial interview survey of around 12,000 households and a follow-up physical inspection. Some further elements are also periodically included in or derived from the EHS: for 2008 and 2009, a desk-based market valuation was conducted of a sub-sample of 8,000 dwellings (including vacant ones), but this was not carried out from 2010 onwards. A periodic follow-up survey of private landlords and agents (the Private Landlords Survey (PLS)) is conducted using information from the EHS interview survey. Fuel Poverty datasets are also available from 2003, created by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The EHS interview survey sample formed part of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) (available from the Archive under GN 33420) from April 2008 to April 2011. During this period the core questions from the IHS formed part of the EHS questionnaire.

End User Licence and Special Licence Versions:
From 2014 data onwards, the End User Licence (EUL) versions of the EHS will only include derived variables. In addition the number of variables on the new EUL datasets has been reduced and disclosure control increased on certain remaining variables. New Special Licence versions of the EHS will be deposited later in the year, which will be of a similar nature to previous EHS EUL datasets and will include derived and raw datasets.

Further information about the EHS and the latest news, reports and tables can be found on the GOV.UK English Housing Survey web pages.

The English Housing Survey, 2017-2018: Household Data comprises the derived interview data for all cases where an interview has been completed. Datasets are provided for single financial years together with annual weights. The survey consists of a detailed interview using a CAPI based program. An interview is first conducted with the householder. General topics and concepts covered include household characteristics, satisfaction with the home and the area, disability and adaptations to the home, ownership and rental details and income details.

The household data should be used for any analysis where only information from the household interview is required. Users who also require data from the physical survey should use the English Housing Survey, 2017: Housing Stock Data (SN 8494).

Main Topics:

The main topics covered include: general tenure and demographics; household income and housing costs; housing needs; housing aspirations and satisfaction; housing moves; and vulnerable and disadvantaged households.

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify Household Reference Persons in England and Wales by tenure and by age. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

There is evidence of people incorrectly identifying their type of landlord as ”Council or local authority” or “Housing association”. You should add these two categories together when analysing data that uses this variable. Read more about this quality notice.

Estimates for single year of age between ages 90 and 100+ are less reliable than other ages. Estimation and adjustment at these ages was based on the age range 90+ rather than five-year age bands. Read more about this quality notice.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

• country - for example, Wales
• region - for example, London
• local authority - for example, Cornwall
• health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
• statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Tenure of household

Whether a household owns or rents the accommodation that it occupies.

Owner-occupied accommodation can be:

• owned outright, which is where the household owns all of the accommodation
• with a mortgage or loan
• part-owned on a shared ownership scheme

Rented accommodation can be:

• private rented, for example, rented through a private landlord or letting agent
• social rented through a local council or housing association

This information is not available for household spaces with no usual residents.

Age

A person’s age on Census Day, 21 March 2021 in England and Wales. Infants aged under 1 year are classified as 0 years of age.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The English Housing Survey (EHS) is a continuous national survey commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) that collects information about people's housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. The EHS brings together two previous survey series into a single fieldwork operation: the English House Condition Survey (EHCS) (available from the UK Data Archive under GN 33158) and the Survey of English Housing (SEH) (available under GN 33277). The EHS covers all housing tenures and provides valuable information and evidence to inform the development and monitoring of the department's housing policies. Results from the survey are also used by a wide range of other users including other government departments, local authorities, housing associations, landlords, academics, construction industry professionals, consultants, and the general public.

The EHS has a complex multi-stage methodology consisting of two main elements; an initial interview survey of around 14,000 households and a follow-up physical inspection. Some further elements are also periodically included in or derived from the EHS: for 2008 and 2009, a desk-based market valuation was conducted of a sub-sample of 8,000 dwellings (including vacant ones), but this was not carried out from 2010 onwards. A periodic follow-up survey of private landlords and agents (the Private Landlords Survey (PLS)) is conducted using information from the EHS interview survey. Fuel Poverty datasets are also available from 2003, created by the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).

The EHS interview survey sample formed part of the Integrated Household Survey (IHS) (available from the Archive under GN 33420) from April 2008 to April 2011. During this period the core questions from the IHS formed part of the EHS questionnaire.

End User Licence and Special Licence Versions:
From 2014 data onwards, the End User Licence (EUL) versions of the EHS only include derived variables. In addition the number of variables on the EUL datasets from that date has been reduced and disclosure control increased on certain remaining variables. The new Special Licence versions of the EHS, which are subject to more restrictive access conditions, are of a similar nature to EHS EUL datasets prior to 2014 and include both derived and raw datasets.

Further information about the EHS and the latest news, reports and tables can be found on the GOV.UK English Housing Survey web pages.

The English Housing Survey, 2017: Housing Stock Data: Special Licence Access is available for all cases where a physical survey has been completed. For occupied cases the data comprises information from the household interview and from the physical survey. For vacant properties only, data from the physical survey are provided. The Special Licence version includes raw interview and physical datasets and derived data, whereas the EUL version (SN 8494) only includes derived variables. Users are advised to obtain SN 8494 to see whether it is suitable for their needs before making an application for the Special Licence version.

The data are made available for a two-year rolling sample i.e. approximately 12,000 cases together with the appropriate two-year weights. For example, the EHS Housing Stock results presented here are for 2017, but cover the period April 2016 to March 2018. This means that if you use more than one housing stock dataset, you must use either odd or even years. For example, you need to use the Housing Stock Dataset for '2012' and '2014' or '2013' and '2015', but not the dataset for '2014' and '2013' as you would double-count the cases surveyed between April 2013 and March 2014. The Housing Stock dataset should be used for any analysis requiring information relating to the physical characteristics and energy efficiency of the housing stock. Derived datasets provide key analytical variables compiled post-fieldwork including energy efficiency ratings, decent home indicators and equivalised income.

Users who only require data from the household interview should use the English Housing Survey, 2017-2018: Household Data EUL or Special Licence versions (SNs 8495 and 8545 respectively).

New edition information
For the second edition (January 2020), revised interview data files have been deposited.

Main Topics:

The EHS Housing Stock survey consists of two components.
Interview SurveyAn interview is first conducted with the householder. The interview topics include: household characteristics, satisfaction with the home and the area, disability and adaptations to the home, ownership and rental details and income details. All interviewees are guaranteed confidentiality and all data are...