New research from Halifax shows that the highest level of owner-occupation in the UK is to be found in the local authority of Castle Point in Essex, where 89% of all households are homeowners – well above the UK average of 70%.

Blaby in Leicestershire (87%) and Fareham in Hampshire (86%) come a close second and third in the owner occupation league table.

The lowest rates of owner occupation are to be found in central London. In Tower Hamlets only 29% of households are owner-occupiers, while in Southwark just 31% are homeowners.

A low rate of home ownership is a feature of urban areas. Owner occupation rates are below 50% in thirteen London boroughs along with central Manchester (42%) and Glasgow city (49%).

Key Findings:

Regionally owner occupation is highest in the South East (76%) and the South West (75%). Home-ownership rates are lowest in Greater London (59%) and Scotland (64%). However, Scotland has seen the fastest rate of increase in home-ownership in the past ten years, a twelve percentage point rise – three times the average UK growth. The right to buy scheme has been a key factor behind the increase in Scottish home ownership. The South East has seen the smallest increase in homeownership in the past ten years, up only 1%.

29 local authorities in the UK have owner occupation rates above 80%. 10 of these are in the South East, 5 are in the East Midlands and 4 local authorities are in the East of England. Areas with very high rates of owner occupation tend to have house prices that are higher than the regional average. The areas with the lowest owner occupation rates in each region tend to have house prices below the regional average.

House prices are at a premium to the regional average in 23 out of the 29 areas with homeownership rates above 80%. On average, the premium is 17%. Earnings also tend to be higher in areas with high home ownership rates. The average gross weekly earnings were above the regional average in 21 out of 29 high ownership areas with an average premium of 9%.

The claimant count unemployment rate is below the regional average in all 29 areas with very high rates of home ownership. The claimant count in these areas is currently, on average, 1.1% versus a UK claimant count of 2.7%. With a few notable exceptions – such as Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster in central London - unemployment tends to be slightly higher in areas with low levels of homeownership. The unemployment rate in the seventeen areas identified with owner occupation rates below 50% is, on average, one percentage point higher than their region's unemployment rate.

Four of the local authorities, which have regional lows for owner occupation, are within the ODPM'S nine 'pathfinder' areas of low demand housing. These are Kingston upon Hull, Sandwell in the West Midlands, Manchester and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Tim Crawford, Group Economist at Halifax, said: "There is significant disparity in owner occupation rates across the UK with a 60 percentage point difference between the highest and lowest areas."

"High levels of homeownership tend to be centred in the South East, East Midlands and East of England. High owner occupation rates are usually a sign of prosperity and this is generally reflected in lower unemployment rates, higher earnings and higher house prices in these areas."