Research from specialist property lending experts, Octane Capital, highlights which areas of the property market are the most valuable based on this equity.
According to the data, the South East is home to the highest level of housing equity of all regions, with an estimated value of £560bn in homes owned outright. London follows close behind with the 948,681 homes owned outright in the capital equating to £493.3bn in housing equity.
The East of England (£355bn), South West (£322.4bn) and North West (£238.1bn) also rank within the top five regions home to the highest total value of housing equity.
At Local Authority level
At a local level, Buckinghamshire is home to the most valuable property market where total housing equity is concerned. With the average home valued at £447,579, Octane Capital estimates there is a total of £40.6bn in housing equity across the 90,175 homes that are owned outright.
In Cornwall, this total value of homes is estimated at £37bn, with Kensington and Chelsea (£32.1bn), Barnet (£29.6bn) and Dorset (£29bn) also ranking within the top five.
Jonathan Samuels, CEO of Octane Capital, commented: “London is certainly the nation’s most expensive pocket of the property market and nowhere more so than Kensington and Chelsea. However, in terms of the wealthiest area based on the value of homes owned outright, it’s the South East that leads the way and Buckinghamshire sits top of the table as the richest area in England, at least from a brick and mortar point of view.
"The total wealth within the housing market is huge and has only grown stronger as a result of the pandemic house price boom.
"For well over a decade, the nation’s homebuyers have also benefitted from a far greater level of affordability when it comes to borrowing, with the base rate sat below one per cent. As a result, the journey to outright homeownership has no doubt taken them a shorter period of time and this has certainly contributed to current market wealth.
"Of course, this research only scratches the surface where the true wealth of the market is concerned, as many homeowners are yet to fully own their home outright, but will still have accumulated a good deal of equity within it."
