Number of young homeowners halves in 35 years

Home ownership among young families has plunged over the past 35 years, according to analysis.

A two-year inquiry into the housing crisis facing millennials in Britain has highlighted how getting on the property ladder is moving further out of reach for them.

The number of families headed by a 25 to 34-year-old who own their own home has more than halved in some regions amid soaring house prices, slow wage growth and tighter lending criteria. 

Out of 22 areas analysed, home ownership has remained stable in just one – Strathclyde in Scotland – where it stood at 32 per cent in 1984 and 33 per cent last year.

The inquiry – chaired by former Tory universities minister David Willetts, and overseen by the Resolution Foundation think-tank – highlights the difficulties facing so-called ‘millennials’, or those born between 1981 and 2000.

In 1990, half of young families owned their own home in the South East, West Yorkshire, Greater Manchester and West Midlands.

Tory universities minister David Willetts, who is chairing the inquiry into the housing crisis facing millennials in Britain 

Today less than a third of young families are able to own.

In outer London, the proportion of home owners in that age group has plummeted from 53 per cent to just 16 per cent.

Mr Willetts said yesterday: ‘Rebalancing our property market back towards first-time buyers would enjoy strong support across generations.’