The UK now has the fourth lowest home ownership rate in the European Union after years of soaring house prices, official figures show.

But separate research suggests that the downward trend in home ownership could finally be coming to an end, with buying a property now more affordable than renting in six out of 10 British Cities.

According to the most recent comparable figures published by Eurostat, the EU statistics agency, only Denmark, Austria and Germany have lower owner-occupancy rates than the UK out of the 28 member states.

Overall just under seven in 10 people across the EU (69.5 per cent) were living inowner-occupied homes in 2015.