However Welsh property has been found to hold the least equity.
Currently 36 per cent of Britons are repaying a mortgage, with equity release prospects more favourable in London and the South East where a third of the £1,377 trillion of the UK's property equity is tied up.
“A prolonged period of rising prices which has - importantly - helped many homeowners to build equity and a reassuring cushion against any market downturn," explained Gerry Bell, head of mortgage marketing at GE Money Home Lending.
"However, whilst consumers should take some reassurance from the equity that they currently hold in their homes, they also need to ensure that they are not complacent and continue to make prudent financial decisions – particularly in an environment of economic slowdown which could potentially see house prices falling.”
The average borrower today owns around a third of their home, or a cumulative total of £582 billion worth of equity.
The South East accounts for the lion’s share of UK property wealth at 19.2 per cent, followed by the capital at 14.1 per cent.
By constrast, the North East has only 2.97 per cent whilst Wales has 4.5 per cent.
Bell continued: “It is true that many homeowners have benefited from significant growth in house prices recent years but clearly the picture is complex. What this research highlights are interesting regional variations.
"Whilst the majority of property equity is found in London and South East, almost a third of homeowners actually own their own homes outright in areas with significantly less equity - such as Wales and the North West.
"So while these consumers are not as equity-rich they are less impacted by rates rises and house price uncertainty.”
