Scots house value total up by 16%

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/scotland/7184323.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The total value of private houses in Scotland is almost £250bn, new figures from the Bank of Scotland show.

The report said that the value of the Scottish housing stock rose by an estimated 16% in 2007 to £247bn, the highest rise in the UK.

Over the past five years, the value has more than doubled from £118bn.

The 110% rise since 2002 is much higher than the UK average of 56%. But over the past 10 years the UK rise in value (208%) outstripped Scotland (184%).

By comparison, the headline retail price index (RPI) has risen by 31% over the past 10 years.

Housing equity

The value of the UK private housing stock (£4.0 trillion) was 3.4 times the value of outstanding mortgage debt of £1.2 trillion at the end of 2007.

Ten years ago, private sector housing assets were 3.0 times higher than secured mortgage debt.

The figures also showed that UK housing assets increased by more than mortgage debt levels in each year since 1995.

UK housing equity rose by almost £2 trillion over the past decade

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "Scottish home owners have seen a significant increase in their housing equity over the past five years as a result of the sustained and substantial rise in house prices.

"Price gains well above the UK average have caused the value of the private Scottish housing stock to increase nearly twice as rapidly as the UK average in the past five years."

The Bank of Scotland annual review of the value of the housing stock 2008 tracks the value of the private residential housing stock at a national and regional level.

The review is based on data from the HBoS house price index database, the Scottish Government and Westminster's Communities and Local Government department.