British houses worth £3.8 trillion in total

The total worth of British housing stock is around £3.8 trillion according to a new report.

This is an increase of 78 per cent in the last five years, according to the research by building society Halifax.

Housing in the north had the greatest rise in value and went up by 130 per cent since 2001 with more houses being built there than in the south.

Lincoln, Kingston upon Hull and Salford in particular had seen many new homes built while London, Manchester and Edinburgh had the most valuable housing stock.

Tom Crawford, an economist for Halifax, said: "The UK''s household balance sheet is in good shape. Total housing assets are now worth 3.5 times the overall level of housing debt.

"Ten years ago, 2.9 times was the equivalent figure."

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors says that the housing boom will cool down soon with the interest rate rise increasing borrowing costs.


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