Banking and Financial News

Brits accumulate £1.4tn of property wealth, research shows - 05/02/2008

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UK homeowners contribute to £1.377 trillion of property wealth in the country, according to new statistics by GE Money Home Lending.

Research aiming to map property equity in the country discovered that more than a quarter of homes in the UK are owned outright, with owners delivering nearly £1.4 trillion in property wealth.

For many homeowners this equity, which equates to around £127,455 for each property in the UK, provides a buffer against possible house price falls in the short-term.

London and the south-east contain a third of all residential property equity, GE Money Lending found, with the north-east and Wales coming in at the bottom of the rankings.

Commenting on the GE Money Home Lending figures, its head of mortgage marketing Gerry Bell said that irrespective of short-term activity in the property market, the "prolonged period" of increasing prices has helped many people build equity.

Referring to this as "a reassuring cushion against any downturn", Mr Bell warned against complacency.

He said: "Whilst consumers should take some reassurance from the equity that they currently hold in their homes, they also need to ensure that they are not complacent and continue to make prudent financial decisions."

The latest Halifax House Price Index said that house prices in the last quarter of 2007 were 5.2 per cent higher than in the last three months of 2006.

© Adfero

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