The combined value of every home in the UK has now exceeded £7trn, with landlords and older homeowners being the big winners in the property market over the past decade.
Over the past 10 years, the total value of the UK’s housing stock has increased by more than a third, despite the slowdown experienced in the wake of the credit crunch in 2007/2008, according to the latest research by Savills.
But only around a fifth of the decade’s growth came from newly built properties, with the rest attributed to existing homes. Landlords saw the value of their owned properties more than double from £600bn in 2007 to £1.3trn last year, while people who owned their houses outright, unmortgaged, had an equity leap from £1.8trn to £2.5trn over the 10-year period.
Where is the value?
The financial crisis saw mortgages becoming more difficult to obtain than before, which could explain some of this increase, as well as the fact that the general population is ageing, leaving more people able to pay off their mortgages. The number of over-65s who fully own their homes loan-free has risen to 73%, compared to the 66% seen in 2007, while the proportion of homeowners aged 25-34 has only increased by 1%.
London accounted for almost 90% of the growth after properties went up in value by around 40% in the period. By contrast, the north-east saw prices decrease – but this trend looks set to reverse as London house prices begin to level out, and even declined last year, whereas many areas in the north are making positive strides forward.
The report also noticed that mortgaged buy-to-let properties were seeing a slowdown in total price growth, which is probably linked to the latest changes to tax relief imposed by the government as well as other regulations cracking down on landlords. However, the industry is proving resilient, with many lenders still offering excellent rates on buy-to-let mortgages, as well as options for first-time buyers hoping to branch into buy-to-let.
