The value of UK’s private housing stock in August 2015 is estimated at £5.1 trillion, according to the latest research from Halifax. This compares with £3.3 trillion in 2005; an increase of £1.8 trillion – or a massive 53% – over the past decade.

The increase is equivalent to £76,316 per household in the owner-occupied and private rented sectors. The value of the UK private residential housing stock has grown at a faster rate than consumer prices, with the retail price index up by 35% in the past decade.

Housing equity up

The value of mortgage debt has also grown, rising by 35% since 2005 from £942bn to £1.28 trillion. However because the value of the private housing stock has grown by over five times as much as outstanding mortgage debt, housing equity has actually increased by £1.4 trillion (60%) over the decade from £2.4 trillion in 2005 to £3.8 trillion.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, commented:

“Housing equity held by UK households is in a healthy state with total housing assets worth nearly £4 trillion more than the total value of mortgage debt. Despite the rapid rise in mortgage debt over the past 10 years, net housing equity has grown by £1.4 trillion since 2005.”

North and South

Regionally, there is a huge variation in the level of housing equity, with a higher balance in the South compared to the North. The highest is in London where housing equity is estimated at £798bn, which is equivalent to £305,749 per household. The next largest is South East (£722bn, £223,197 per household), and outside southern England, the highest equity levels are in the North West (£283bn £109,043 per household).

The value of housing in the North increased by 36% compared to 66% in the South during the last 10 years. As a result, the South’s share of total UK housing assets rose from 56% in 2005 to 61% in 2015.