HOME ownership has risen faster in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK in the past five years.
The 8.9 per cent increase in owner-occupation since 2001 was the biggest percentage rise in the UK and nearly treble the national rate of 3.1 per cent, figures from the Bank of Scotland showed yesterday.
While Scotland has traditionally lagged beh
ind in home ownership, this is changing rapidly.
Owner-occupation has more than doubled north of the Border since 1971, when it was 31 per cent. The UK rate increased from 51 per cent to 70 per cent over the same period.
The number of homeowners in Scotland rose by 125,000 from 1.4 million in 2001 to 1.5 million in 2006.
East Renfrewshire tops the tables with 86 per cent of households owner-occupied. East Dunbartonshire's rate is 84 per cent and in Perth and Kinross it is 80 per cent.
The lowest levels of owner-occupation were in Dundee city at 54 per cent and Glasgow city at 51 per cent.
Martin Ellis, the bank's chief economist, said: "Owner-occupation has continued to rise in Scotland over the past five years. As a result, owner-occupation rates are now close to the UK average.
"Increasing affordability difficulties for potential first-time buyers have now contributed to a slowing in the rate of growth in Scottish owner-occupation, leading to a fall in the number of Scottish householders with mortgages."
The full article contains 249 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
