WOKINGHAM Borough has one of the highest numbers of home owners in the South East, figures reveal.

Data from leading mortgage lender TSB shows that in England, an additional 476,000 people have entered owner occupation in the past two years.

The figures show a broad north/south divide in ownership levels with the Sough East having the highest level at 76 per cent, while London had the lowest number of home ownerships at 59 per cent.

However, Wokingham came 7th in the top 20 list for having the highest number of people owning a home, coming in at 79.8 per cent.

Nick Smith, head of mortgages at TSB, said: “There is little doubt that owner occupation still remains the preferred housing tenure for many people.

"After a period of decline between 2002 and 2017, we are now starting to see an increase once again in the number of people owning their own homes.

"This is being fuelled, in the main, by a very competitive mortgage market and schemes such as shared ownership and help to buy which have both reduced some of the hurdles which first time buyers have faced when trying to get onto the housing ladder.”

In the past, young people have been less likely to own a home and this gap has increased over time.

In 2017-2018, homeowners had an average of 57 years and less than 1 per cent were aged under 25-years-old suggesting there is a financial pressure on young people to own a home.