Nearly half of properties in North Norfolk are owned outright by their occupants, a higher proportion than any other local authority in England, new figures show.
The thin strip of East Anglia coastline, which includes the seaside towns of Cromer and Sheringham, has for several years been the area of England with the largest percentage of population aged 65 and over.
The data has been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of its latest estimates of household tenure, which also includes figures for accommodation that is rented or owned with a mortgage or loan.
North Norfolk tops the list for the highest percentage of properties owned outright by occupants (49.8%), followed by Rother in East Sussex (48.7%), Staffordshire Moorlands (48.2%), Derbyshire Dales (48.2%) and East Lindsey in Lincolnshire (47.4%).
Three of these five – North Norfolk, Rother and East Lindsey – are also the local authorities where people aged 65 and over account for the largest share of the population.
The areas with the greatest proportion of homes owned outright by occupants tend to be in coastal regions or away from cities, the ONS said.
The top five with the lowest percentage of outright ownership are all in London: Tower Hamlets (8.4%), Hackney (10.0%), Southwark (10.8%), Islington (11.8%) and Lambeth (12.1%).
However, the trend is reversed for properties that are privately rented.
Here the top five areas with the highest proportion are all in the capital: City of London (51.8%), Westminster (47.9%), Kensington & Chelsea (42.8%), Newham (41.1%) and Tower Hamlets (41.0%).
The bottom five are outside cities and away from heavily built-up areas: North East Derbyshire (10.3%), South Staffordshire (10.6%), Rochford in Essex (10.6%), Bromsgrove in Worcestershire (10.7%) and Maldon in Essex (11.7%).
The ONS figures are for 2023 and suggest there were a total of 23.7 million households in England living in 25.4 million dwellings.
Of this total, 8.3 million dwellings (32.6%) were owned outright, 7.6 million (29.8%) were owned with a mortgage or a loan, 5.3 million (20.8%) were privately rented and 4.2 million (16.7%) were socially rented, mainly from housing associations and local authorities.
Wokingham in Berkshire has the highest proportion of properties owned with a mortgage or loan (42.3%), followed by Dartford in Kent (41.4%), Hart in Hampshire (39.5%), Bracknell Forest in Berkshire (39.4%) and Reigate & Banstead in Surrey (39.0%).
The areas with the lowest proportion are again all in London: Westminster (13.3%), Kensington & Chelsea (13.8%), Camden (14.9%), City of London (15.1%) and Islington (17.1%).
For properties that are socially rented, the top five areas are in the capital: Islington (38.9%), Southwark (38.5%), Hackney (38.5%), Lambeth (33.4%) and Camden (31.7%).
The bottom five are Castle Point in Essex (5.3%), Wokingham (7.1%), Medway in Kent (7.3%), Wyre in Lancashire (7.6%) and Ribble Valley in Lancashire (7.8%).
