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The number of British people owning a second home has soared by more than 50 per cent since 2001 as the value of additional property wealth nears £1 trillion, according to a new report.

Research from think tank the Resolution Foundation revealed that 5.5 million people – around one in ten of the UK population – own a second home, buy to let or overseas property, up from 3.6 million in 2001.

The jump was driven by buy to let mortgages, which have risen 15 times since the turn of the century.

Wealth from second homes owned by UK adults has also risen over the same period to £941bn.

It found that while 50 per cent of people born in the 1960s owned a property by the age of 29, that dropped to 37 per cent among those born in the 1980s.

One in six baby boomers – 1.2 million people born in the 1950s – reported owning extra property, the data from 2014 to 2016 revealed.

Despite the surge in second home ownership, the number of millennials owning a home continues to fall.

The report urged policymakers to rebalance the housing market to help first-time buyers.

Resolution Foundation policy analyst George Bangham said: “While young people in particular are less likely to own their own home than previous generations, those that do own are more likely to have more than one property.

“And as the huge stock of second homes, buy-to-let and overseas properties starts to be passed on to younger generations, Britain risks becoming a country where getting ahead in life depends as much on what you inherit, as what you earn.”

By Callum Keown

Source: City AM

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