The total value of privately owned housing stock in the UK has grown to more than £5.5 trillion for the first time, according to research by Halifax.
In the past decade, the total value has grown by £1.9 trillion (or 51 per cent) to an estimated £5.6 trillion.
This has comfortably out-paced the retail price index, which rose by 33 per cent during the same period.
The average value per household in the UK stands at £241,682, up from £173,837 in 2006 – representing an increase of 39 per cent.
Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: “A combination of higher house prices and an increase in the number of privately owned homes has seen the value of housing stock grow by £1.9 trillion in the past decade.
“Overall housing equity held by UK households is in a healthy state, with total housing assets worth over £4.2 trillion more than the value of mortgage debt.
“Housing equity has grown by £1.6 trillion since 2006. For almost one in three homeowners – who own their home with no outstanding mortgage debt – their financial position is even stronger.”
Total mortgage debt has grown by 25 per cent since 2006 from £1.1 trillion to £1.3 trillion but the value of the private housing stock has increased by more than seven times as much.
| Table 2: Value of Privately Owned Housing Stock in the UK 2006-2016 | |||
| Region | Value of Housing 2006 - £ billion | Value of Housing 2015 - £ billion | Value of Housing 2016* - £ billion |
| North East | 108 | 125 | 125 |
| North West | 335 | 405 | 419 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 245 | 303 | 309 |
| East Midlands | 230 | 285 | 299 |
| West Midlands | 281 | 345 | 359 |
| East | 387 | 562 | 620 |
| London | 615 | 1,164 | 1,270 |
| South East | 664 | 976 | 1,066 |
| South West | 371 | 473 | 502 |
| Scotland | 224 | 334 | 339 |
| Wales | 152 | 179 | 179 |
| Northern Ireland | 84 | 85 | 87 |
| UK | 3,696 | 5,235 | 5,573 |
The north-south gap has widened since 2006, with the value of housing in southern England increasing two and half times faster than in the north – 70 per cent compared to 27 per cent.
As a result, the south's share of total UK housing assets rose from 55 per cent in 2006 to 62 per cent in 2016.
The share of private housing wealth in London has grown from 30 per cent to 37 per cent during the same period.
The total value of private residential housing stock in the capital is 14 times the level in Northern Ireland which, at £87bn, is the lowest in the UK.
