Private property value rises £149bn

The value of private housing has risen by £149 billion in the last decade, according to research.

The Bank of Scotland said the value of private residential housing stock was estimated at £263 billion at the end of 2011, up 131% from £114 billion in 2001.

Value has increased at a greater rate than anywhere else in the UK, where the national average was an 84% increase, and at a much faster rate than overall consumer prices. The retail price index is up 38% since 10 years ago.

The bank said the rise has been driven by a combination of a 111% increase in average house prices and a 16% increase in private housing stock.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "Scotland has seen the largest increase in the value of the privately owned housing stock over the past 10 years across the UK.

"Helped by more than a doubling in house price, as well as a 16% increase in the stock of privately held residential properties, the value of Scotland's housing has increased by 131%, or £69,000 per household, during the decade.

"For most homeowners in Scotland, housing is still very much the main store of private wealth."

source: Press Association

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