New research from the Halifax says that the increase of £1.83 trillion is equivalent to £79,262 per household in the owner occupied and private rented sectors since 2004.
It means that the increase in the value of the UK private residential housing stock has outstripped rises in consumer prices, with the retail price index up by 37% in the past decade.
The data also shows that in the past year, the value of the UK's private housing stock has grown 14% or £630 billion, the fastest annual growth since 2002 when it was 21%.
Regionally, over the last 12 months the value of housing stock in London is estimated to have grown by £217 billion and by £123 billion in the South East with the two regions accounting for more than half of the total growth of the value of housing stock across the UK.
An increase in average property values combined with a rise in the number of private new build homes coming on to the market have been the main contributing drivers.
The value of the housing stock has grown in all 12 UK regions over the past year, and all regions have also seen a significant increase in the value of their private housing stock during the last 10 years.
The largest increase was in London where the value of housing stock has more than doubled at 109% from £545 billion in 2004 to £1.14 trillion in 2014. The capital is closely followed by Scotland, which has seen a rise of 96% from £170 billion to £333 billion. However, there have been much smaller increases elsewhere with the smallest rises in the West Midlands at 32% and the North East at 33%.
The research also found that the value of mortgage debt has risen by 47% since 2004 from £877 billion to £1.29 trillion, but at the same time the value of the private housing stock has grown by more than four times as much as outstanding mortgage debt. As such, housing equity has increased by £1.42 trillion or 61% over the decade from £2.34 trillion in 2002 to £3.76 trillion.
Regionally, there is a wide variation in the level of housing equity, with a higher balance in the south compared to northern areas. On average, the highest amounts of equity are in London where housing equity is estimated at £820 billion, which is equivalent to £313,466 per household. The capital is followed by the South East at £726 billion or £219,163 per household, and the East at £447 billion or £203,462 per household.
Outside southern England, the highest average equity levels are in Scotland at £249 billion or £126,930 per household, the North West with £278 billion or £106,011 per household and the West Midlands at £248 billion or £125,532 per household.
The lowest housing equity is in the North East at £84 billion or £91,641 per household and Northern Ireland at £14 billion or £21,519 per household.
‘The total value of all privately owned residential dwellings in the UK continues to increase. An increase in average property values combined with a rise in the number of private new builds has contributed to the increase in the value of housing stock across all UK regions, although the growth is stronger in London and the South East,’ said Martin Ellis, housing economist at the Halifax.
‘Aggregate housing equity held by UK households is in a healthy state with total housing assets worth £3.76 trillion more than the total value of mortgage debt. Regionally, there is wide variation in housing equity, but importantly after the recent housing downturn all regions are showing increasing equity levels. More so, there are an estimated 7.2 million households in England that own their home outright and are mortgage free,’ he added.