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No-mortgage outright ownership of UK homes rises

No-mortgage outright ownership of UK homes rises
Full home ownership in England has increased to 8.8 million. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters

The number of houses owned outright in England has jumped to 8.8 million despite the impact of COVID, as almost 500,000 more properties were owned without a mortgage in 2020.

The number of residential dwellings owned outright increased to 8.8 million in 2020, up 6% from 8.3 million the previous year, according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

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There was an increase of 1.6 million properties owned outright between 2012 and 2020.

“At the start of this series in 2012, more homes were owned with a mortgage than were owned outright, but by 2020 dwellings owned outright had become the most common, with more than twice as many as those in social rent,” Tim Pateman, of the housing analysis team at the ONS, said.

Record low interest rates did not seem to attract home-buyers as the number of houses owned with a mortgage fell by 292,000.

There were an estimated 6.8 million properties owned with a mortgage or loan, 4.7 million privately rented houses and 4.1 million under social rent across England in 2020.

Castle Point in the East of England had the highest percentage of dwellings that were owner-occupied (82%), and Hackney in Inner London had the lowest (28%).

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The London borough also had the highest percentage of social-rented dwellings, at 41% in 2020. At the other end of the spectrum, Westminster had the highest proportion of private-rented houses, at 43%.

Of the total 24.7 million properties in England, just under two-thirds were estimated by the ONS to be owner-occupied.

The average UK house price saw double-digit growth in the year to November, gaining £25,000 ($34,038) when compared to the previous year.

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