"The impact of the pandemic on the value of housing across the UK cannot be underestimated, with one in three homeowners making over £50,000 on their property"
With the average UK household income at £34,100, some properties are making more than their owners' salaries as the total value of homes has increased by £1.3 trillion, netting the average homeowner £48 per day in capital gains since the start of the pandemic.
Zoopla's data shows that 9.4m homes (32% of all homes) have grown in value by more than £50,000 since February 2020.
The South West region contains 1.9m homes that grew by more than £50,000, the most for any area. A further 9.4m homes grew by between £25,000 and £50,000.
Throughout the UK, Wales has seen the greatest increase in value (+22%) followed by the North West and South West (both 20%). In London however, the increase is just 7%, less than half the national average as affordability factors and the impact of the pandemic and working from home dented the demand for homes, especially in high value inner areas of London and the market for apartments.
London and the South East account for 23.5% of the total value of all UK homes, but weaker growth means the share of housing wealth has fallen from 26% pre-pandemic.
In addition, not everyone has seen gains during this period with the value of 1.6m homes (5.7%) currently the same or lower than pre-pandemic. Half of these homes (0.8m) have seen a value decline of 5% or more with most concentrated in inner London.
Zoopla’s analysis reveals 28% of the homes declining by more than 5% were in London - of which half were in the central London boroughs of Westminster, Kensington & Chelsea, Islington, Hammersmith & Fulham, Tower Hamlets and Southwark. Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where the economy suffers from the historic decline in oil prices, accounted for a further 6% of homes declining in value.
Andy Marshall, chief operating officer at Zoopla, said: “The impact of the pandemic on the value of housing across the UK cannot be underestimated, with one in three homeowners making over £50,000 on their property during the pandemic. This provides a clear opportunity for agents when it comes to nudging those high value homeowners to sell their properties - highlighting how their property has significantly increased in value over the course of the pandemic could be the final push they need to take the plunge and list their property for sale.”
