Northampton has seen a 128 per cent increase in people renting their homes over the last 10 years, and an 18 per cent drop in home ownership, new figures have revealed.
Census data released by the Office of National Statistics shows the town has the second highest drop in homes owned with a mortgage in the East Midlands, and the fourth highest increase in the proportion of private rented homes.
Homeless charity Shelter says the statistics reflect the fact that house prices in the area are more than five-and-a-half times the average wage, which is pushing more people into the private rental market.
The regional average is a 15 per cent fall in home ownership and a 79 per cent increase in home renting.
In other parts of the county, Daventry has seen a 17 per cent fall in home ownership, while Corby had significantly the biggest increase in rentals in the region, of 267 per cent.
Shelter chief executive Campbell Robb said: “These figures confirm home ownership is slipping further and further out of reach in the East Midlands, no matter how hard people work or save.
“This means young people are living at home well into their thirties, desperate to get on in life but unable to afford a place of their own. Meanwhile, more young families are stuck in rented housing under constant threat of being evicted, worrying about whether they’ll have to move again.
“Today’s broken housing market isn’t the result of the credit crunch or mortgage lending, but decades of under-investment in building the affordable homes we need. The government has got to get a grip on this situation now, otherwise the chances of the next generation getting an affordable home look increasingly bleak.”
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