UK housing stock value dips for first time since 2012

The total value of all homes across the UK has dropped for the first time since 2012.

Research by Savills shows the value of the UK’s housing stock at the end of 2023 was £8.678 trillion.

The figure is down 0.3% on 2022 but remains £1.585 trillion higher than before the pandemic in 2019.  

The value falls were concentrated in the south, Savills said.

The total value of London’s housing stock decreased by £39.3bn or 2.1%, while the South East, South West and East of England saw a combined £16.5bn or 0.5% fall.

In contrast, markets further from London which have a greater capacity for growth, saw values increase on the year.

 The most significant uplift was in Northern Ireland  (3.2%), North East (1.4%), Scotland (1.3%) and the East Midlands (1.3%).

While London accounts for the largest proportion of the total value of UK housing, since 2016 it has only accounted for 12.01% of total growth. As a result, its proportion of the total value of UK housing has fallen from a high of 24% in 2016 to a more normal 21% in 2023.  

Outright owner occupiers continue to be the major beneficiaries of value growth. According to Savills, homes owned outright now account for almost 40% of the total value of all UK housing.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Despite higher mortgage costs, the market’s resilience means UK housing continues to be a significant, and a relatively secure, store of wealth. Even after deducting outstanding mortgage debt of £1.652 trillion, our figures show that net housing wealth continued to exceed £7 trillion; a figure 2.6 times the size of the UK’s economy.

“In 2023 the total value was supported by an £80 billion uplift from new housing delivery. But, more fundamentally, the market was insulated from interest rate pressures by a combination of more stringent mortgage regulation, the increased use of fixed rate mortgages and the assistance provided by lenders to those in financial difficulty.

“We may see the cost of mortgages ebb and flow over the course of 2024, as markets respond to changing expectations of when and how much the Bank of England will cut the base rate. But over the medium term we expect affordability pressure to ease, meaning that the recent loss in value should be short lived.”