UK housing stock hits record value of £7 trillion
The UK’s housing stock has reached a record value of £7.39 trillion, according to the latest research.
Total gains last year hit £101.8bn – growth of 1.4 per cent – and the value of housing across the UK has increased by £2.74 trillion in the last 10 years.
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Growth in the value of existing homes was £2.39 trillion over the course of the decade, accounting for 87 per cent of the increase, while new housing development added £35bn.
However, in 2019 new housing accounted for 40 per cent – or £41bn – of the value uplift as development accelerated and house price inflation slowed, according to the latest research by Savills.
Savills senior research analyst Lawrence Bowles said: “Established homeowners have been among the greatest beneficiaries of house price growth over the last decade, many of whom have paid down their borrowing.
“The value of unmortgaged owner occupier homes has risen 67 per cent over the last ten years. This leaves an unprecedented 46 per cent of homeowner wealth in the hands of the over 65s.”
Over the decade, London and the south of England accounted for 73 per cent of all value gains with a total of £2 trillion.
But in 2019 90 per cent of total housing value gains came from outside London and the South, with the Midlands and the north of England accounting for 64 per cent of the growth.
Last you Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland accounted for 26 per cent of value uplift combined.
“London and the South account for almost two thirds of the nation’s housing value, 63 per cent. But the rest of the country is catching up. The North and Midlands accounted for the majority of growth in the value of housing stock last year, thanks to faster house price growth and more development,” Bowles said.