Do interest rates matter? Number of mortgaged homes falls

There are only 6.8m mortgaged homes in England, just 28 per cent of the overall market and about two per cent down from the level five years ago.

Research by mortgage firm Henry Dannell shows that the reduction in total homes owned with the help of a mortgage has been most notable in the East of England, down three per cent since 2017.

Some areas have bucked the overall trend – Tower Hamlets in London has seen mortgaged property ownership rise 16 per cent in the last five years.

Geoff Garrett, director of Henry Dannell, explains:

“A reduction in the level of mortgaged owned homes is a positive thing on the face of it, as it means more homeowners outright own their own homes and the equity they would have accumulated within it while living there.

“There’s no doubt that such a sustained period of low interest rates will have helped drive this trend, with many homeowners paying less interest and able to pay off their mortgage at a quicker rate than they may have previously.

“The other side to the story is the increasing issue of affordability for the nation’s homebuyers, many of whom may have struggled to buy and instead opted to rent long-term, and this has no doubt contributed to a decline in mortgaged homes across the nation.”

*Table shows the five-year change in total homes owned with a mortgage or loan*
Region	Owned with mortgage or loan 2015	Currently owned with mortgage or loan	Five-year change
West Midlands	728,593	700,244	-4%
North West	963,620	929,940	-3%
Yorkshire and The Humber	708,920	684,486	-3%
East of England	827,321	799,906	-3%
South West	713,965	691,321	-3%
North East	354,248	343,316	-3%
South East	1,227,339	1,190,641	-3%
East Midlands	634,490	615,531	-3%
London	890,506	884,033	-1%
England	7,049,002	6,839,418	-3%

*Table shows areas to have seen the largest five-year change in total homes owned with a mortgage or loan*
Region	Owned with mortgage or loan 2015	Currently owned with mortgage or loan	Five-year change
Tower Hamlets	18,671	21,683	16.1%
Newham	22,601	24,905	10.2%
Salford	28,585	30,763	7.6%
Greenwich	27,520	29,544	7.4%
Southwark	25,238	26,875	6.5%
Hackney	17,426	18,262	4.8%
City of London	1,097	1,147	4.6%
Newcastle upon Tyne	29,576	30,896	4.5%
Telford and Wrekin	23,364	24,360	4.3%
Dartford	15,859	16,418	3.5%

*Table shows the percentage of total properties owned with a mortgage or loan and the five-year change*
Region	Homes owned with mortgage or loan	Total dwellings	Mortgage owned as % of total dwellings	Five-year change
East Midlands	615,531	2,123,763	29%	-2%
East of England	799,906	2,733,183	29%	-3%
London	884,033	3,634,498	24%	-1%
North East	343,316	1,246,438	28%	-2%
North West	929,940	3,333,545	28%	-2%
South East	1,190,641	3,984,708	30%	-2%
South West	691,321	2,602,948	27%	-2%
West Midlands	700,244	2,536,706	28%	-2%
Yorkshire and The Humber	684,486	2,460,706	28%	-2%
England	6,839,418	24,656,495	28%	-2%

*Table shows the areas with the lowest change in total properties owned with a mortgage or loan*
Region	Homes owned with mortgage or loan	Total dwellings	Mortgage owned as % of total dwellings	Five-year change
Tower Hamlets	21,683	126,103	17.2%	0.3%
Hackney	18,262	112,205	16.3%	0.0%
Newham	24,905	120,347	20.7%	-0.1%
Southwark	26,875	137,472	19.5%	-0.1%
Islington	17,502	105,489	16.6%	-0.4%
Manchester	46,585	231,000	20.2%	-0.5%
Westminster	16,439	126,422	13.0%	-0.5%
Hammersmith and Fulham	16,055	90,335	17.8%	-0.6%
Greenwich	29,544	117,450	25.2%	-0.6%
Barking and Dagenham	21,175	76,570	27.7%	-0.6%