Household wealth 'has more than doubled'

The collective household wealth held in the UK has more than doubled over the past decade, new research from Halifax Financial Services shows, fuelled by sharp rise in house prices.

Housing equity rose by £1,915 billion between 1996 and 2006, the study has shown, and now stands at £2,702 billion – accounting for more than half of the rise in total household wealth.

Furthermore, housing asset growth of 216 per cent was easily in excess of the 163 per cent growth seen in mortgage debt, Halifax added.

"The financial position of households in total has strengthened substantially over the past decade," Halifax Financial Services chief economist Martin Ellis commented.

"Whilst much has been said about the rise in debt, it is important to note that the value of households' assets has risen at a faster pace.

"Housing has played an important part in increasing wealth, but there has also been a significant rise in the value of investments in financial assets in the last ten years," Mr Ellis added.

House price growth in September rose to 0.7 per cent from an August increase of 0.4 per cent, Nationwide reported last week.


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