During 2001 and 2002 only 10% of new mortgages were endowments, while three quarters were arranged on a repayment basis, according to a survey of English housing issued by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.

In contrast, during the period 1985-1989, 61per cent of new mortgages were endowment and 30 per cent repayment.

Endowment mortgages, where homebuyers contribute to a stockmarket-linked investment scheme, have come in for a lot of bad press in recent years as stock market falls have led to increasing numbers of people facing a shortfall between the maturity value of their investment and the amount they owe on their home.

Reports of homeowners unable to pay off their mortgages on schedule appear to have deterred most homebuyers from taking out endowment mortgages recently.

Other interesting snippets from the survey of English housing show:

• Some 19 per cent of applicants on Council waiting lists had been on the list for 5 years or more, as compared to 6 per cent of those on Housing Association lists.
• Young people with a disability are much less likely to be living in suitable accommodation than elderly people. Only 43 per cent of people aged less than 16 with a disability were living in suitable accommodation as compared to 77per cent of those aged 65 and over.
• The proportion of older householders who considered that they would not be able to pay for a major repair to their home was substantially higher than for younger householders. 12 per cent for householders aged 70 or more and 7 per cent for householders aged 60-69, as compared to 3 per cent of younger householders.
• Nearly half of all households have a garage or car port solely for their own use while about a third of households have no parking for their sole use.

Nearly 10,000 households were randomly selected for interview to research facts for the survey of English housing. The research was carried out by the National Centre for Social Research in the first six months of 2002/03.