This was a rise of over £400 billion, Halifax indicated.
The analysis also revealed that housing equity was significantly outweighing mortgage debt, with the current value of private housing stock 3.5 times the value of the UK outstanding mortgage debt of £1.1 trillion.
Northern cities accounted for some of the steepest rises, Halifax revealed, although it reported hat each UK region had seen at least a 50 per cent increase in the value of its housing stock since 2001.
Tim Crawford, group economist at Halifax, commented: “The combined value of all privately owned houses in the UK was a record £3.8 trillion by the end of last year.
“The UK’s household balance sheet is in good shape. Housing assets are now worth 3.5 times the overall level of housing debt.”
In addition Halifax also confirmed the significant rate at which housing stock values had outpaced inflation. The underlying Retail Price Index rose by 14 per cent over the past five years versus a 78 per cent increase in the value of the housing stock.
Rachel Loynes, adviser at Carterbar Ltd, said: “It’s great there is a larger amount of equity in property than debt owing. However it doesn’t matter how much equity you have in your home – if interest rates get too high people will struggle to meet repayments.”
