The changing trends of owner occupation and private renting

In 2003, 58.6% of 25 to 34 year olds were owner occupiers – they owned the property that they lived in. However, across the last 17 years this has been in decline, dropping to around 38%, whilst the number of private renters soared up to a peak of 48.2% in 2013-2014.

Across England, the proportion of 25 to 34 years olds in owner occupation is now equal to the proportion in the private rented sector. This is due to the number of first time buyers actually entering the market in the last few years.

727,000 first time buyers got keys to their first home in the year to March 2019. This increase may be down to the number of first time buyers been taking advantage of the Government’s Help to Buy Equity loan scheme which is available on selected new build properties. Across England, 43,000 first time buyers have benefitted and 1,500 across Wales, over the past year.

45% of all first time buyers are now obtaining a 30+ year mortgage and in 2018/2019 85% used savings to help fund their deposit which was a surprising 11% increase from the previous year where this was just 76%.

If you are looking to purchase your first property then get in touch with one of our property advisers at your local branch to see how you can start your property search, and speak with one of our mortgage advisers to find out how much you might be able to borrow.

We also held our first Property Session of the year for First Time Buyers in January, take a look at how the event was and keep your eyes out for the next one!

Sources: Dataloft, MHCLG, English Housing Survey (2018-2019)