Home Ownership Statistics UK 2026

In 2024-25, only 42% of English households occupied by someone aged 16 to 34 owned their home, compared with 79% of households occupied by someone aged 65 or over. Across the UK, outstanding residential mortgage lending reached £1.76 trillion by the end of June 2026. These statistics cover ownership rates, first-time buyers, affordability, mortgages, leasehold properties and the condition of owner-occupied homes. This 2026 edition distinguishes current-year figures from earlier survey results and identifies the geographical coverage of each statistic.

Ownership figures are not always directly comparable: some measure households, while others measure the housing stock, including vacant properties. Age-based household statistics refer to the household reference person, rather than every individual in that age group.

Home Ownership Across the UK

Owner-occupation is the largest tenure across the UK, but each nation measures it slightly differently. The figures below compare household and housing-stock measures, then look more closely at Scottish owners.

Ownership and rental tenures

These figures set owners against private and social renters, and show how the mix varies between nations.

• In the year ending March 2024, 65% of UK households were owner-occupiers – including households owning outright and those buying with a mortgage.
• In the year ending March 2024, 19% of UK households rented privately and 17% rented socially – the figures are rounded, so the three tenures total 101%.
• In 2024-25, 70% of Northern Irish households owned their home – 41% owning outright and 29% buying with a mortgage.
• At 31 March 2025, 60% of Scotland’s estimated 2.75 million homes were owner-occupied – a housing-stock measure that includes vacant properties and second homes.

Scottish owner-occupier households

Scottish household data shows how owners differ from renters on age and financial pressure.

• In Scotland’s 2025 tenure figures, 47% of owner-occupied households had a highest-income householder aged 60 or over – compared with 12% of privately rented households.
• In Scotland’s 2025 tenure figures, 3% of owner-occupied households said housing costs might force them to move – compared with 12% of privately rented households.
• In Scotland’s 2025 tenure figures, 1% of owner-occupied households reported difficulty paying their mortgage or rent – compared with 7% of private renters and 8% of social renters.

Ownership by Age

Age remains the clearest dividing line in English home ownership, though the gap between younger and older households has narrowed over the past decade. This section tracks ownership by age band and the growing number of people buying their first home in mid-life.

Younger and older households

These figures compare ownership rates across three age bands over ten years, alongside younger households’ buying expectations.

• In 2024-25, 42% of English households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 were owner-occupiers – up from 31% in 2014-15.
• In 2024-25, 64% of English households headed by someone aged 35 to 64 owned their home – down from 68% in 2014-15.
• In 2024-25, 79% of English households headed by someone aged 65 or over were owner-occupiers – up from 77% in 2014-15.
• In 2024-25, 49% of prospective buyers in English households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 expected to wait at least five years before buying.

Buying later in life

A growing number of English first-time buyers are aged 35 to 64, and more of them are buying alone.

• In 2024-25, approximately 352,000 English households headed by someone aged 35 to 64 had become first-time buyers within the previous three years – more than double the 155,000 in 2014-15.
• In 2024-25, 25% of recent first-time buyer households headed by someone aged 35 to 64 in England were one-person households – up from 9% in 2014-15.
• In 2024-25, 65% of recent first-time buyer households headed by someone aged 35 to 64 in England were in the top two household-income quintiles – 34% in the fourth and 31% in the fifth.

House Prices and Affordability

UK house prices rose only modestly in the year to August 2026, with London recording the weakest growth of any English region. Over a longer period, earnings have grown faster than prices, improving affordability measured against pay.

Prices during 2026

The latest monthly figures show average prices and annual growth across the UK nations and London. These are average prices, which differ from the median prices used in the affordability figures below.

• £273,000 was the average UK house price in August 2026 – a provisional annual increase of 0.9%.
• £294,000 was the average house price in England in August 2026 – up 0.4% year on year, below UK-wide growth of 0.9%.
• £216,000 was the average house price in Wales in August 2026 – up 3.1% year on year.
• £198,000 was the average house price in Scotland in August 2026 – up 2.9% year on year.
• 2.2% was the annual fall in London house prices in August 2026 – the weakest annual growth of any English region.

Prices relative to earnings

These ratios compare the median home with median full-time pay, using 2025 median prices rather than the 2026 averages above.

• In 2025, the median home in England cost 7.6 times median full-time annual earnings – a £300,000 median price against median earnings of £39,300.
• In 2025, the median home in Wales cost 6.0 times median full-time annual earnings – a £213,000 median price against median earnings of £35,800.
• Between 2021 and 2025, median earnings in England and Wales grew 25% – against 5% growth in median house prices.

First-Time Buyers and Deposits

First-time buyers now account for more than half of UK mortgage sales, yet the typical buyer still borrows more than 85% of the property’s value. This section covers buyer numbers, repayment costs, loan-to-value ratios and how deposits are funded.

First-time buyer activity and deposits

These figures track first-time buyer volumes and borrowing, and the sources younger buyers use to fund their deposits.

• In 2025, 391,000 first-time buyer mortgages were granted across the UK – up from 332,000 in 2024, an 18% rise.
• In the fourth quarter of 2025, initial repayments on new first-time buyer mortgages took 22% of buyers’ gross income – close to the elevated levels recorded in 2023.
• In 2025, 53% of recorded UK mortgage sales were to first-time buyers – up from 34% in 2006.
• In 2025, the median UK first-time buyer loan-to-value ratio was 85.6%, up from 85.0% in 2024 – in London it was 80.2%, reflecting larger deposits relative to price.
• In 2024-25, 78% of English mortgagor households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 had used savings towards their deposit, and 29% had used a family gift or loan.

Mortgages and Borrowing

Mortgage lending picked up in the first half of 2026, while rates on new borrowing stayed above those on existing loans. Younger borrowers are also far more likely than older ones to take terms of 30 years or more.

Lending during 2026

These figures cover outstanding mortgage debt, quarterly lending and the interest rates borrowers were paying in 2026.

• £1.76 trillion was the outstanding value of UK residential mortgage loans at the end of June 2026 – up 3.1% from a year earlier.
• £77.4 billion in gross mortgage advances was recorded in the second quarter of 2026 – up 11.1% on the first quarter.
• 4.63% was the effective interest rate on new secured household loans in September 2026 – a measure of rates on new lending, not advertised mortgage deals.
• 4.03% was the effective interest rate on outstanding secured household loans in September 2026 – 0.6 percentage points below the rate on new loans.

Mortgage terms and household costs

Long mortgage terms are the norm for younger English borrowers. These figures compare term lengths and average housing costs by age group.

• In 2024-25, 68% of English mortgagor households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 had mortgage terms of 30 years or more – compared with 23% of those headed by someone aged 35 to 64.
• In 2024-25, 61% of English mortgagor households headed by someone aged 35 to 64 had mortgage terms of 20 to 29 years.
• In 2024-25, mortgage costs took an average 19% of gross income for English mortgagor households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 – compared with 36% spent on rent by private renters of the same age.

Repayment Pressures and Support

Arrears have been falling, but hundreds of thousands of borrowers have used payment support since mid-2023. This section covers support take-up, arrears and how repayment burdens vary by location and age.

Mortgage support and repayment burdens

These figures combine take-up of payment support with arrears and the share of income going on mortgage costs.

• 381,364 mortgages were locked into a replacement deal up to six months before their existing deal ended in the second quarter of 2026, under the Mortgage Charter.
• Between July 2023 and June 2026, 354,000 mortgages had monthly payments cut through temporary interest-only payments or term extensions – approximately 3.9% of regulated mortgage contracts.
• 22,400 mortgages had monthly payments reduced through temporary interest-only payments or term extensions in the second quarter of 2026 – up 11% from approximately 20,100 in the first quarter.
• In the fourth quarter of 2025, 90,050 mortgages were in arrears – the seventh consecutive quarterly fall.
• In 2024-25, London mortgagor households headed by someone aged 16 to 34 spent 28% of gross household income on mortgage costs – compared with 18% elsewhere in England.
• In 2024-25, English mortgagor households headed by someone aged 65 or over spent 16% of gross household income on mortgage costs – compared with 37% spent on rent by private renters of the same age.

Leasehold Home Ownership

Leasehold makes up a large part of England’s housing stock, particularly among flats and in London. The figures below show its overall scale, who occupies leasehold homes and how much time is left on their leases.

The scale of leasehold

These figures size the leasehold sector and break it down by tenure and property type.

• In 2024-25, 4.90 million dwellings in England were leasehold – approximately 20% of the country’s housing stock.
• In 2024-25, 2.72 million English leasehold dwellings were owner-occupied – 56% of all leasehold homes.
• In 2024-25, 1.52 million English leasehold dwellings were houses – 31% of leasehold stock, with flats making up the remaining 69%.
• In 2024-25, 17% of owner-occupied dwellings in England were leasehold – compared with 41% of privately rented dwellings.

Location and lease length

Leasehold is concentrated in London and the North West, and in flats rather than houses. The final figure shows how many owner-occupiers hold shorter leases.

• In 2024-25, 39% of London’s housing stock was leasehold – approximately 1.44 million dwellings, the highest regional total in England.
• In 2024-25, 30% of the North West’s housing stock was leasehold – approximately 999,000 dwellings.
• In 2024-25, 92.5% of owner-occupied flats in England were leasehold – compared with 7.7% of owner-occupied houses.
• In 2024-25, approximately 246,000 owner-occupied leasehold households in England had fewer than 80 years remaining on their lease.

Shared Ownership and Right to Buy

Shared ownership and Right to Buy offer routes into home ownership outside a standard full-price purchase. This section covers who uses them, what they pay and how demand changed in 2024-25.

Shared ownership purchases

These figures cover sales volumes, buyer profiles, deposits and equity stakes. Sales totals cover large private registered providers and local authorities, not the entire market.

• In 2024-25, 18,603 initial shared ownership sales were completed in England by large private registered providers and local authorities – up 2% on the previous year.
• In 2024-25, an estimated 70% of shared ownership purchases from private registered providers in England were made by first-time buyers.
• In 2024-25, 46% of shared ownership purchases in England were made by single-adult households – compared with 20% by households with children.
• In 2024-25, the mean deposit on a shared ownership purchase in England was £22,200 – against a median of £13,100, as a minority of larger deposits lifts the average.
• In 2024-25, shared ownership buyers in England purchased a mean initial equity stake of 38% – with the average stake worth £121,100.

Right to Buy purchases

Right to Buy sales and applications both rose in 2024-25, a year that included reductions in maximum discounts.

• In 2024-25, 9,236 social housing dwellings in England were sold through Right to Buy – up 7% from 2023-24.
• In 2024-25, the average discount on local authority Right to Buy sales in England was £78,750 – equivalent to 43% of market value.
• In 2024-25, local authority tenants in England made 63,068 Right to Buy applications – an increase of 236% on the previous year.

Owner-Occupied Housing Conditions

Owner-occupied homes in England generally score better than privately rented homes on condition and damp. This section covers space, housing quality and the cost of reaching energy efficiency band C.

Space and housing quality

These figures compare owners with private renters on space, decency standards and damp, using both surveyor inspections and household reports.

• In 2024-25, 55% of owner-occupied households in England were under-occupied – approximately 8.9 million households with at least two bedrooms more than required under the bedroom standard.
• In 2024, 15% of owner-occupied dwellings in England failed the existing Decent Homes Standard – compared with 22% of privately rented dwellings.
• In 2024, surveyors recorded damp problems in 4% of owner-occupied dwellings in England – compared with 10% of privately rented dwellings.
• In 2024, 22% of owner-occupied households in England reported condensation, damp or mould themselves – 28% of mortgagor households and 17% of outright owners.

Energy efficiency and overheating

These figures show progress towards energy efficiency band C, what upgrades would cost and how many owner-occupied homes overheat.

• In 2024, 49% of owner-occupied dwellings in England had an energy efficiency rating of C – up from 40% in 2022.
• In 2024, the estimated mean cost of bringing an eligible owner-occupied dwelling in England up to energy efficiency band C was £7,869 – covering homes below C that could reach the standard.
• In 2024, 10% of eligible owner-occupied dwellings in England needed at least £15,000 of improvements to reach energy efficiency band C.
• In 2024, 13% of owner-occupied dwellings in England were reported as overheating – compared with 11% in both private and social rented homes.

Sources

1. Office for National Statistics – Private rented sector statistics from across the UK, UK household tenure figures for the year ending March 2024, 2025.
2. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency and Department for Communities – Northern Ireland Housing Statistics 2025-26, household tenure results for 2024-25.
3. Scottish Government – Housing statistics for Scotland 2025-26: Annual Summary, October 2026.
4. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025: age cohorts, May 2026.
5. Office for National Statistics – Private rent and house prices, UK: October 2026, provisional August 2026 house prices.
6. Office for National Statistics – Housing affordability in England and Wales: 2025, March 2026 release.
7. UK Finance – Household Finance Review Q4 2025, first-time buyer lending, repayment burdens and arrears, 2026.
8. Office for National Statistics – Mortgage statistics, UK: 2025, September 2026.
9. Financial Conduct Authority – Mortgage lending statistics, second quarter 2026, September 2026.
10. Bank of England – Effective interest rates: September 2026, October 2026.
11. Financial Conduct Authority – Mortgage Charter uptake data, reporting through June 2026, September 2026.
12. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – Leasehold dwellings, 2024 to 2025, May 2026.
13. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – Social housing sales and demolitions 2024-25: Shared ownership, February 2026.
14. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – Live Table 697: Financial data on shared ownership sales, England, February 2026.
15. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – Social housing sales and demolitions 2024-25: Right to Buy sales, February 2026.
16. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025: Chapter 1, Housing quality, January 2026.
17. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025: Chapter 2, Energy efficiency, January 2026.
18. Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025: Weather resilient homes fact sheet, July 2026.
19. UK Finance – Modest growth forecast for mortgage lending in 2026, December 2025.