Scotland is breaking records in the United Kingdom (UK) housing market due to a combination of increases in average house prices and private housing stock that has resulted in a 131% spike in real estate value in 2011. The total increase has been measured at £263 billion, or £69,000 per Scottish household, which is welcome in a country where housing is the main store of wealth for citizens. Scotland’s gains are followed by homes in the North of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, while the smallest increases were found in the South East and West Midlands. For more on this continue reading the following article from Property Wire.
The value of private housing stock in Scotland increased by £149 billion, or 131%, in the decade to 2011, more than anywhere else in the UK, according to new research from the Bank of Scotland and the Halifax.
The value of the housing stock at the end of 2011 is estimated at £263 billion, up from £114 billion in 2001.
The increase of £149 billion over the decade is equivalent to £69,000 per household in Scotland. The value of Scotland’s private residential housing stock has grown at a much faster rate than overall consumer prices with the retail price index up by 38% over the past ten years.
The large rise in Scotland has been driven by a combination of a 111% increase in average house prices and a 16% increase in private housing stock, the strongest performance on both factors across the UK.
The 131% increase seen in Scotland was the best performance in the UK, growing at a faster rate than the national average of 84%. In the UK as a whole, the value of private housing stock rose by £1.8 trillion to an estimated £3.9 trillion in the decade to the end of 2011.
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Scotland is followed by the North of England with a rise of 102% from £50.5 billion to £101.8 billion. In Yorkshire and the Humber housing value has almost doubled to £236 billion from £119 billion in 2001, a rise of 98%. The smallest increases were in the South East at 68% and the West Midlands at 71%.
‘Scotland has seen the largest increase in the value of the privately owned housing stock over the past ten years across the UK. Helped by more than a doubling in house price, as well as a 16% increase in the stock of privately held residential properties, the value of Scotland’s housing has increased by 131%, or £69,000 per household, during the decade. For most home owners in Scotland housing is still very much the main store of private wealth,’ said Nitesh Patel, housing economist at the Bank of Scotland.
In the UK as a whole the picture changes when looking at the value of housing stock since 2007, however. Over the past five years the value of the UK’s housing stock has declined by 5%, or £187 billion. This reflects the reduction in house prices since autumn 2007 but the decline has been more than compensated for by the significant increases in the half decade prior to 2007.
This article was republished with permission from Property Wire.
