Halifax calculates that the value of the UK's private housing stock rose by 12% or more than £400bn in 2006 to £3.8 trillion. The value of the housing stock has increased by 78% over the last five years. The Halifax Annual Review of the Value of the Housing Stock 2007 tracks the value of the private residential housing stock at a city, regional and national level. The review is based on data from the Halifax house price index database, the DCLG, the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly and the DSDNI.
Housing equity significantly outweighs mortgage debt. The value of housing assets increased by £410bn in 2006 versus a £100bn increase in mortgage balances. In 2006, the value of the private housing stock (£3.8 trillion) was 3.5 times the value of outstanding mortgage debt of £1.1 trillion.
Ten years ago, private sector housing assets were only 2.9 times higher than secured mortgage debt. The value of housing assets exceeded the total value of outstanding mortgage balances by £2.7 trillion in 2006, up from £2.4 trillion in 2005. Over the past five years, the value of the private housing stock has increased most in Northern Ireland (165%) and the North (130%). Each region of the UK has seen at least a 50% increase in the value of its housing stock since 2001.
With London at the forefront, the UK's cities account for 35% of the value of the total UK housing stock at £1.3 trillion. London makes up almost half of the value of the total city housing stock at £649bn. After London, the cities with the most valuable private housing stocks are Birmingham (£41bn), Leeds (£35bn), Edinburgh (£33bn) and Manchester (£32bn).
Northern English cities accounted for seven of the ten cities with the sharpest rise in the value of their housing stock over the past five years. Since 2001, the value of the housing stock has increased at the sharpest rate in the cities of Lincoln (173%), Kingston upon Hull (161%) and Salford (140%). The North - South housing wealth gap has narrowed over the past five years. In 2006 the South accounted for 55% of the UK's total housing assets, compared with 62% five years ago, while the North has seen its share rise to 45% in 2006 from 38% in 2001. However, the North-South private housing value split held steady during the past year.
The value of the UK residential housing stock has grown at a much faster rate than overall consumer prices. The underlying retail price index (RPIX) has risen by only 14% over the past five years versus a 78% increase in the value of the housing stock.
