LEVELS of home ownership among young adults on middle incomes have “collapsed” over the past 20 years, according to a study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) published today.

Just one in four 25 to 34-year-olds has a chance of getting on the property ladder, compared with two in three in the mid-1990s, the think tank’s research found.

Decreasing rates of home ownership come as little surprise in the context of a long-running housing crisis.