Thrifty Loans

Home ownership is on the decline in Britain. The percentage of people who own their own home has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, dropping below the 70%.

The falling ownership figure is more confirmation that would-be first-time buyers are unable to join the property market as they would wish to. It also comes as another blow to Prime Minister Gordon Brown who has promised on more than one occasion that he will make homes more affordable to British families.

In 2007 there was a fall of 100,000 in the number of home owners, as figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government showed that the number of homes owned in Britain fell to 14.5 million.

The quoted percentage is the number of homes owned out of the number of households, and it stands at 69.8% - the lowest level since Labour came to power in 1997.

Of the 14.5 million households under dweller ownership, just over eight million have a mortgage. That is the lowest level for 20 years, and is another indicator that the young – who are traditionally more indebted in the country – are being priced out of the market, and those who have paid off their mortgage are becoming a higher percentage of home owners.

As the number of home owners falls and the number wit a mortgage decreases so the number of households having to rent is at its highest level since the 1970s.

Another contributing factor is the rising number of repossessions, which is expected to hit its highest level for 12 years in 2008.

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, Philip Hammond, said: “The last Conservative government created a revolution of home ownership in Britain, with millions more able to achieve their dream. In Brown’s Britain, that dream is being shattered.”