New research conducted by GE Money Home Lending has revealed how house price inflation has contributed to UK homeowners' wealth, generating a GBP1.96 trillion of property equity. This equity, which provides a buffer against potential short term falls in prices for many, equates to approximately GBP127,455 for each UK property.
GE Money’s analysis of industry data, including research on home ownership from GfK NOP, a market research organization, has revealed that some 26% of people own their homes outright and as a result of phenomenal house price growth, have accumulated a staggering GBP1,377 trillion of property wealth.
Furthermore, homeowners with mortgages have also benefited from growth in recent years. According to the analysis some 36% of Britons have a residential mortgage, with the average borrower owning almost a third of their home. This equates to approximately GBP582 billion worth of equity.
On a regional basis the picture is extremely varied with the South East accounting for the lion’s share of UK property wealth with 19.2%. This is followed by London 14.1%, making them the two ‘wealthiest’ regions when it comes to property equity. The north east has only 2.97% of the property wealth whilst Wales has 4.5% – the two lowest percentages in the country.