UK property is now worth more than half the nation’s wealth
Key Points
- Property in England and Wales is valued at nearly £9 trillion, making up more than half of all national wealth, according to HM Land Registry.
- Around £1.66 trillion of lending is secured against that property, and annual sales pass £360 billion.
- HM Land Registry published the figures alongside a new three-year agreement with Ordnance Survey to share property and location data.
- The two organisations want to speed up land registration, cut fraud in duplicated property titles and improve how the market uses geospatial data.
- Neither body has set a date for when homebuyers will see any change to the buying process.
Property in England and Wales is worth nearly £9 trillion and accounts for more than half of the nation’s total wealth, HM Land Registry said on Monday (17 August).
Around £1.66 trillion of lending is secured against that property. Annual sales in the UK surpass £360 billion, placing it among the largest property markets in the world.
HM Land Registry released the figures alongside a Memorandum of Understanding with Ordnance Survey covering the next three years.
The two organisations plan to align their data roadmaps, share Land Registry data through Ordnance Survey’s DataHub and exchange expertise on licensing, geospatial work and compliance.
Ordnance Survey already sits at the centre of the registration process. It tracks new housing developments and surveys building footprints, and more than 4,500 case workers use its data every day to maintain the Title Register. Its mapping also underpins the general boundaries shown on every Land Registry title plan.
HM Land Registry has kept the official record of land ownership in England and Wales for over 160 years.
The organisation launched its Strategy 2025+ programme last year with a commitment to make property services better, faster and less stressful, and describes the Ordnance Survey agreement as the next stage of that work.
“A more efficient property market is vital to the UK economy. It helps people move home more easily, supports development and investment, and underpins one of the most significant assets many people own,” said Tina Kennedy, Chief Customer Officer at Ordnance Survey.
Kennedy said the collaboration would improve data accessibility across government and strengthen connections between departments working on housing.
“We have exciting plans to transition from traditional record keeping to actively fuelling economic growth and unlocking new opportunities across the housing sector,” said Lynne Nicholson, Deputy Director for Data and Head of Data Group at HM Land Registry.
The agreement sits alongside the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes in England during the current parliament. HM Land Registry also points to sharper environmental planning, fewer duplicated property titles and better identification of property insurance risk as benefits of a faster registration process.
The organisations have not published a timetable, named any specific service changes or set out what a buyer or seller should expect to see differently.
