The housing crisis is no longer just a London problem as home ownership plummets to the lowest level across the country.

A report from the think-tank Resolution Foundation shows home ownership in England reached a peak of 71% in 2003 and has since fallen to 64%, the lowest level seen since 1986.

The fall in home ownership has corresponded with the proportion of private renters across England almost doubling from 11% in 2003 to 19% in 2015 with more buy-to-let investors in the market.

Inner London has the lowest level of home ownership of 42% in 2003 reducing further to 36% in 2016 as first time buyers struggle to get on the housing ladder.

London has been joined by other areas in England with Greater Manchester, South and West Yorkshire and the West Midlands Metropolitan area experiencing double digit falls since peaking in the early 2000s.

Cities with sharp falls in ownership

London and Greater Manchester have recorded the sharpest fall in home ownership of any major city area in the last decade.

The lack of suitable homes may make it harder home movers to buy and limit for first time buyers from getting on the property ladder.

Greater Manchester home ownership in 2003 was 72%, however and has plummeted at almost twice the rate of the rest of England to only 58% of households in Manchester own their home.

Outer London has the same ownership proportions reducing 13.5% from a high of 72% to the current level of 58%.

Data shows the lowest proportion of home ownership in England from the peak in early 2000s compared to February 2016 as follows:

Area	February 2006	Change from peak
Inner London	36.4%	-6.2%
Tyne & Wear	56.5%	-7.5%
Outer London	57.8%	-13.5%
Greater Manchester	58.4%	-14.5%
South Yorkshire	58.4%	-9.8%
West Midlands	59.3%	-11.2%
West Yorkshire	60.2%	-10.6%
Merseyside	62.3%	-9.1%
Strathclyde	63.3%	-3.4%
East Anglia	66.9%	-6.5%
East Midlands	66.9%	-8.1%
South West	69.3%	-5.9%

The metropolitan area of the West Midlands and West Yorkshire have also recorded double-digit falls.

Stephen Clarke, Policy Analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said ownership has fallen fastest in Greater Manchester over the last decade, though the Leeds and Sheffield city areas have also experienced sharp drops.

In terms of areas, Wales has the highest level of ownership with 69.6% followed by England on 63.8%, Scotland with 63.5% and Northern Ireland with 63.0%.

Private renters increase in England

For Greater Manchester the increase in private renters has more than trebled from 6% in 2003 to 20% in 2015 with Outer London and West Yorkshire also experiencing double digit growth.

Mr Clarke said the shift to renting privately can reduce current living standards and future wealth as private rented sector spend 30% their income on housing compared to 23% for those who own with a mortgage.

For remortgage buyers switching to a low cost mortgage deal allows you to make savings and with overpayments you can repay your mortgage early reducing the overall cost.

Renters are also more likely to face the greater insecurity associated with short-term contracts and find it difficult to accumulate wealth for a deposit to buy a home.

These drops are more than a simple source of frustration for the millions of people who aspire to own their home, says Mr Clarke.

We cannot allow London’s housing crisis to spread to other cities and it is encouraging that the new Prime Minister has talked about tackling the housing deficit.

Help for first time buyers can come from family members as the equity release mortgage buyer can access wealth to repay an interest only mortgage, pay for care at home or help your children start or expand a business.

What are your next steps?

Call our LCM mortgage brokers for advice if you are a first time buyer, want to remortgage your existing home for the best mortgage deal, moving home or are a buy-to-let investor.

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