The lender claimed that the number of owner occupied homes dropped by 83,000 in 2007 from 14,621,000 in 2006 to 14,538,000, with owned properties accounting for 69.8 per cent of housing.
At the same time, the number of households in private rented accommodation rose by 107,000 in 2007, making up 12.5 per cent of all properties.
Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said affordability was the main reason behind the trends. “The fall in the total number of owner occupied households in England in 2007 largely reflects the increasing affordability difficulties faced by many potential purchasers as a result of the rapid rise in house prices in recent years.
"The figures for owner occupancy clearly demonstrate that these affordability issues are most pronounced among younger people and in Southern parts of England.”
According to Halifax, the largest drop in owner occupancy was evident in the 18-44 age group, with 235,000 fewer households.
Meanwhile, London was the only place which saw a fall in levels of owner occupancy between 2001 and 2006 (6.3 per cent), although there was a noticeable North/South divide with buying growing in the North by 5.1 per cent and falling in the South by 1.2 per cent.
Neil Johnson, head of PR and policy at the Building Societies Association, said: “Sooner or later we were going to pass the point where housing is affordable.
"We’ve now reached that tipping point. However, we have seen the emergence of the private rental sector, which give a good alternative to ownership.”
