26 Apr Essex Places 2nd in the Whole of England for Home Ownership Rates
Essex scoops the second highest home ownership rate out of every county in England, beating the likes of West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Berkshire, and London.
A recent study, commissioned by UK conveyancing solicitors Bird & Co, analysed current figures from the Office for National Statistics to find the number of homes owned – either outright or by a mortgage – vs. homes rented in each local authority.
Each locality was then assigned a percentage home ownership rate and ranked from highest to lowest. This identified 58 local authorities within 25 counties that make a ‘top 10’ list for home ownership.
With home ownership being a continually contentious topic amongst UK citizens, seeing so many counties with such a high home ownership rate is a positive step. With recent internal Bird & Co statistics showing that 71% of conveyancing clients were first time buyers, this implies more and more people are making it onto the property ladder.
The local authorities with the highest proportion of home ownership across Essex that made it into the top 10 list were:
• Castle Point 82%
• Rochford 81%
• Maldon 77%
• Brentwood 76%
• Tendring 74%
Essex held the second most areas in the top 10 – with 5 local authorities – joined by Hampshire, which also had 5 local authorities in the top 10 list. Both counties were beaten by Surrey, which had 7 local authorities in the top 10 list, whilst counties including Berkshire, Devon, Kent, Suffolk, and the West Midlands ranked last place, with just 1 local authority in the top 10 list each.
In Essex, Castle Point and Rochford had over 4 in 5 homes owned outright or by mortgage, making them the top two local authorities for home ownership in the whole of England.
Not only did Essex have the highest number of local authorities in the top 10, the East of England ranked 4th place out of all the regions in England, with an average home ownership rate of 68.2%. The question is, what makes this region such a hub for home ownership?
Currently, the average house price in Essex is £407,921, in comparison to Surrey, which has an average house price of £620,508. If house price was a factor in the home ownership rate, we’d expect these areas to have a lower price. Essex’s house prices remain higher than the average of £274,712 in England, which suggests that house price is not the key factor when it comes to home ownership.
Instead, perhaps it is the high percentage of Essex’s population within higher age brackets which explains this trend. In fact, the average age range for 40+ year-olds in Essex exceeds the average across the UK, which may go some way to explaining the home ownership figures. Generally, older individuals have more equity, and therefore more ability to afford a house, possibly explaining Essex’s position in the rankings.
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that Essex is a hotspot for people looking to buy homes. The area is clearly doing something right in terms of getting young people onto the property ladder, as well as keeping current homeowners in the area.
Daniel Chard, Partner at Bird & Co, stated: “Home ownership rates have been a contentious topic for a number of years now, as cost of living continues to rise whilst salaries do not meet the demand. This is making it very tricky for particularly young people to jump on the property ladder these days.
“Despite this, it’s reassuring to see that the percentage of homes owned exceeds homes rented in most localities. Although a number of the houses in this equation may be second homes, we’re pleased to see that many UK citizens have made it into home ownership, despite the challenges faced.”
