HOME ownership among young people across Bradford and West Yorkshire has halved in a generation.

The findings have been announced by think-tank The Resolution Foundation which said it counters “the popular perception that the struggle to get on the housing ladder is largely confined to London and the South East”.

The study looked at how home ownership for young families in the 25 to 34-year-old age group has changed over time - between 1994 and 2016.

In West Yorkshire, for example, 61 per cent in this age group bracket were home owners in 1994, but by 2016 this had fallen to 30 per cent - about half the levels seen in the mid-1990s, the research suggests.

And in Greater Manchester, home ownership levels in this age group have fallen from 59 per cent to 29 per cent over the same period, it found.

In outer London, the fall has been from 55 per cent in 1994 to 20 per cent in 2016, according to the research, which analysed the Labour Force Survey to make the findings.

Mark Hayward, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents Propertymark said: “These findings reflect the statistics of first time buyers which no longer fit into the age bracket of 25 to 34-years-old as mentioned in the report.

“We can’t give a reason for this in West Yorkshire particularly, however this may reflect affordability, employment demographics but is most likely down to the inability of this age group to buy a home, let alone a family home.”

The focus of the Resolution Foundation’s work is to improve the living standards of people on low to middle incomes.

It argued that such a “seismic shift” in home ownership puts the younger generation in a very different position from that of the older, baby boomer generation, leaving many more young families living in the private rented sector.

Lindsay Judge, a senior policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation, said the survey shows that more houses needed to be built.

“London house prices always dominate the headlines, but with all eyes on the capital we’re missing the bigger picture,” she said.

“From Bristol to East Anglia and up to West Yorkshire, large swathes of young families across the country simply cannot afford to buy their own home.

“This has implications for their living standards in the here and now, but also in the future when their children grow up and they approach retirement without this key asset to draw upon in old age.

“The manifestos show clear intent from all the main parties to ensure home ownership is a possibility for more young families.

“But these pledges need a hefty dose of reality as they depend on vastly increasing the rate at which we are building in the UK.”