Number of FTBs surges along with energy efficient homes according to the latest English Housing Survey

The latest English Housing Survey has just been released and you’d be forgiven for thinking at first glance that today’s statistics from the government are largely ‘business as usual’ where the proportion of owner-occupied homes vs rental properties are concerned.

The data shows: –

  • A 64% owner-occupation rate, which is largely the same as five years ago. And the same goes for the percentage of private rental stock at 19% is roughly similar to 2014 albeit itself double that of the 1990’s

 

  • However, a deeper dive into the numbers highlights three big changes in household ‘behaviour’.

 

  • The number of young people owning a home (25 to 34) has bounced back from a low of 36% to 41% now

 

  • The under-utilised space in owner-occupied properties has risen amongst homeowners,  up 42% to 52% in the past twenty years whilst overcrowding in rented homes has increased.

 

  • Energy efficiency has improved dramatically. In the past ten years those homes with an EPC edging of A, B or C has improved from just 9% to 34%

Director of lettings and sale agent, Marc von Grundherr, commented:

“Despite all that we hear of the plight of the first time buyer, it seems that statistically speaking they’ve rarely had it so good.

Homeownership amongst youngsters is on the up and no doubt heavily influenced by Help to Buy, record-low mortgage rates and the Bank of Mum and Dad.

Either that or perhaps millennials have heeded the advice of consumer experts and some estate agents and have indeed cut back on avocados and trips to Ibiza, saving their earnings for a home purchase instead.

The even better news is that foot soldiers of Extinction Rebellion can now unglue themselves from various items of London transport, because housing, one of the biggest climate change protagonists, is officially significantly less harmful to the planet than a decade ago. This means that we don’t need to switch our central heating off just yet in order to placate Greta & Co.”

Properganda PR

National and local media coverage for property businesses. Journo quotes delivered in minutes.

You May Also Enjoy

Estate Agent Talk

How homeowners can save big by going green

Homeowners could cut up to £2,000 a year from their energy bills this Energy Savers Week (19th-25th Jan), by combining targeted home improvements with simple efficiency changes and, in doing so, they could improve their mortgage affordability by qualifying for a green mortgage – further boosting the savings on offer from taking a greener approach…
Read More
Rightmove logo
Breaking News

Largest ever January price jump, as market sentiment rebounds after the Budget

The average price of homes coming to the market for sale rises in January to £368,031, a 2.8% increase from December (+£9,893). This is the largest ever price increase seen in the month of January, and the largest of any month since June 2015: National average property prices are now 0.5% ahead of this time…
Read More
Breaking News

Office space back in favour as return to workplace drives commercial demand

The latest research by BPS London has revealed that office space is currently the most in-demand commercial property asset across England, as the continued return to a physical workplace sees offices fall back in favour with British businesses. BPS London analysed investor demand across the commercial property market, assessing the proportion of available opportunities within…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 14/1/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI) points to a materially more fragile outlook  Europe’s corporate distress picture appeared to stabilise on the surface in Q4 2025, but the latest Weil European Distress Index (WEDI) points to a materially more fragile outlook moving into 2026.…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 15/1/26

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.   Pan-European €400m micro-living portfolio to be managed and digitised by Reos  Prop.com, a leading real estate investment manager focused on unlocking value for investors through digital technology, has launched a strategic partnership with property management and digitalisation specialist Reos GmbH to develop one of…
Read More
Breaking News

South East sees most sellers relisting

New research from Property DriveBuy reveals that sellers who are re-entering the market are reducing their asking price by an average of £5,300 to try and snag a buyer, but in London this reduction climbs as high as £27,000, while the South East is the region where most sellers are relisting this year having failed…
Read More