‘The ONS has revealed that home ownership has fallen for the first time since 1918 after sharply rising property prices and stagnant wages left many more people stuck in rented accommodation.
The proportion of people in England and Wales who own their homes rose from just under a quarter at the end of the First World War to more than two thirds in 2001.
However, the percentage has now fallen from 69 to 64 as the number of households in rented property rose by a quarter to reach 8.3m. Matthew Pointon, a property economist with Capital Economics, said the rate of ownership had fallen for the past seven years because property prices were overvalued by most measures.
He added: “Although we expect owner-occupation will remain the most popular tenure, the rate is likely to continue to decline over the next few years.”‘
Source: The Daily Telegraph