What the latest statistics tell us about housing – in six charts
No introduction needed to these stats, they are really useful in helping understand why housing is such a challenge in rural areas. You need to access the article itself for the charts.
Nearly half of 25- to 34-year-olds rent their home. The majority of 25- to 34-year-olds in 2004 owned their own home, but those born just a decade later are now far more likely to be renting from a landlord.
A full 59% of 25- to 34-year-olds owned their own home 10 years ago, but by 2014 this number had crashed to 36%. Rising house prices have seen many young people priced out of buying a home while the percentage of young people renting their homes from a private landlord has more than doubled in a decade and now stands at 48%.
The number of families with children renting privately has almost tripled in 10 years. There are now more than 1.5 million families with children dependent on private landlords, compared with just 566,000 in 2004.
Unlike people who own their home or live in social housing, tenants of private landlords often have little long-term security beyond six- or 12-month tenancy agreements, making it difficult for families to settle in communities and schools. The average amount of time tenants live in a privately rented home is just 3.5 years, compared with 11.5 years in social homes and 17.1 years if they own the property.
Rents are rising faster than inflation. After stalling in 2013, rents charged by private landlords increased by 8.2% in 2014 with the average weekly rent climbing from £163 to £176.40. The average rents in social housing meanwhile increased by 6.1% from £88.90 to £94.30 a week. Inflation (CPI) varied between 2.0% and 0.5% last year.
Analysis What’s behind the massive increase of renters in poverty? The number of private renters living in poverty has doubled in a decade even though the rates for everybody else have fallen. Hannah Aldridge explains why
But the figures are slightly skewed by London’s higher prices. As well as London rents being greater than those elsewhere, they have also increased at a faster rate. The graph below shows average weekly rent prices for homes in London and for those outside the capital.
More working people now rely on housing benefit. Almost one in five working people who rent their home now need help from the state to pay their rent, nearly double the figure from just five years ago. Low wages and high housing costs are blamed for the UK’s soaring housing benefit bill.
Outright owners of homes outstrip mortgage holders for first time since 80s. Outright home owners now outnumber mortgage holders. For the first time, the number of people who own their home outright outnumbered those with a mortgage: 7.4 million households now live mortgage-free. Low interest rates have allowed older homeowners to pay off their mortgages early while fewer first-time buyers have been able to enter the market.