UK homes gained £57 billion in value during 2012, reversing fall of £124 billion in the previous year but properties are still worth 10% less than in 2007, new research shows.

And the data from property website Zoopla also reveals that there is a considerable regional variation in growth with London accounting for £42.4 billion, almost 75%, of the increase.

It means that the combined value of Britain’s residential property stock was £5.963 trillion at the end of December, up 0.97% from £5.906 trillion at the end of 2011.

The 2012 increase in property values brings the total British market value back to the same level as at the end of 2009, following a gain of £67 billion in 2010 but a fall of £124 billion in 2011.
 
The total market values were calculated by Zoopla by combining the estimated current market value of every individual home in Britain.

Property values in England fared much better than Scotland and Wales during 2012, with the overall value of the residential property market in England growing by £64.8 billion, 1.2%, whilst falling by £1.2 billion, 0.3%, in Scotland and by £6.6 billion, 3.1%, in Wales.

Two thirds of the biggest 250 urban areas in Britain experienced increases in total property values in 2012. And amongst the 20 largest cities across Britain, the biggest gainers in 2012 by total increase in value were London which was up £42.4 billion, Bristol up £2.3 billion and Edinburgh up £922 million.

The biggest value losers over 2012 were Sheffield which was down £286 million Doncaster down £160 million and Stoke-on-Trent down £149 million.

‘These figures highlight the varying performance of the property market in different regions around the UK last year. While some areas saw decent growth in property values, others are still facing an uphill struggle,’ said Lawrence Hall of Zoopla.

The data also shows that despite the relatively flat performance of the market over the past three years, the total value of all homes in Britain combined has risen by £1.9 trillion or 46% over the past 10years. And despite property values not rising in Scotland and Wales during 2012, they have actually outperformed property in England over the last decade with England having seen a rise of 43% or £1.6 trillion while Scotland has seen 84% growth or £183 billion and Wales 57% growth or £74 billion.

The biggest annual decrease over the last decade occurred in 2008 when 12% or £792 billion was wiped off the value of Britain’s housing market. Prior to the collapse in 2008, the British property market peaked at a total value of £6.617 trillion at the end of 2007.
 
‘Even with the worst economic downturn in living memory over the past few years, the value of Britain’s housing stock has grown a staggering amount over the last 10 years. It’s hard to see if we will experience the same levels of year on year growth witnessed in the early noughties, but with overall values beginning to creep back up, homeowners should be feeling a little more confident,’ said Hall.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)