The number of households in England that own their homes outright has risen to 7.4 million, outnumbering the 6.9 million people who own homes with a mortgage.
The latest English Housing Survey reveals that the number of households that are living mortgage-free has overtaken those with a home loan for the first time since 1981. Of the 22.6 million households in England, 32.7% own their homes outright and 30.7% have a mortgage.
Of the households that did not have a mortgage in 2013/14, 4.5 million had a resident aged 65 and over.
However, the research also shows that just 63% households now own their homes, with or without a mortgage – the lowest rate since 1985 – and the proportion of 25 to 34-year-olds who own their own home has collapsed from 59% to 36% over the past 10 years.
The proportion of private renting households has jumped to 19.4%, compared with 12% in 1980. In London, more people now rent privately than own either outright or with a mortgage.
