Why the UK Property Market is worth more than ever

The people at major UK property listings website Zoopla have been doing their sums recently and calculated the total value of residential property in the UK. The incredible results show that homes in our little island are worth over £8 Trillion- that’s more than Japan’s total economy.

With population figures continuing to soar and an ever-ageing population (there are expected to be over 70 million of us within the next 20 years), property developers are simply unable to keep up with demand. As the housing shortage grows, property prices are going up accordingly- great news for anyone who bought their bricks and mortar for a low price back in the good old days but not so great for anyone who’s desperate to get a foot on the property ladder.

Zoopla have estimated that the total value of houses in the UK currently stands at £8.17tn- if this could be converted in to GDP ours would be the third largest economy in the entire world, second only to the US and China. The combined value of UK property has grown by 7.35 compared to this time last year; proving that the EU Referendum did little damage to property prices.

Conversely, property prices in London are not at steep as we’ve been used to, meaning that an increased number of people with modest to fair savings are now able to invest in the capital. It’s still only number 9 on the UK affordability list though, with the average home coming in at just over £600,000.

The East of England saw the biggest overall increase, with the average house value increasing by just under 11.5% in the past year. “People are realising that city living isn’t the be all and end all anymore” says Fulham estate agent, Lawsons & Daughters. “Transport links are far superior to what they once were, opening up a whole new world of opportunities to commuters who were priced out of London but stuck for fast, reliable routes to work. There are some lovely places in Norfolk which are just 90 minutes away from the centre of London, meaning high flyers who work in the city can come home to a beautiful rural retreat every day.”

Just outside Norwich is one such place- a small, quaint market town full of timber beamed buildings and colourful cottages, it’s seen bigger property price growth this past year than anywhere else in the UK. The current value of a property here now averages £305,896- up 12% from a year ago. Best Gapp says, “If you can be in the centre of London in an hour and a half at the fraction of the cost of living in the capital, it’s no wonder so many people are jumping ship and moving to the coast.”

You Choose Windows says, “2016 has been a year we’ll all remember for a long time, and a few months ago many were concerned about what the future had in store for the property market. Thankfully it’s proving to be just as resilient as ever and prices are continuing to grow steadily across most of the UK.”