There’s no shortage of subjects that the British public are passionate about.
One of these is – believe it or not – property value.
Perhaps it’s not being debated on the primary school playground, but once you enter the workplace and start building up your cash, it’s something that almost everyone seems to take an interest in.
This probably isn’t that surprising. The latest data shows that:
- 33% of people own a house mortgage-free
- Another 33% own a house with a mortgage.
- The remaining 33% are renting – but perhaps have the eyes set on buying one day.
So, all in all, it’s a subject that affects everyone sooner or later. Yet, believe it or not, this obsession didn’t appear out of nowhere. It has centuries of history behind it.
This is the story of house values in the UK – how it began, how it has changed, and how it continues to capture our attention.
House values through the centuries…
For centuries, owning a home (or, rather, owning land) was the biggest indicator of someone having wealth and influence.
In the modern day, it’s far more common, but in centuries past, it was extremely unusual to own a house.
In Tudor England, the aristocracy’s authority rested on land ownership.
Palaces, estates and manors weren’t just places to live – they were proof that you belonged to the upper echelons of society.
The value of a home back then was not measured in pounds but in the rights attached to it. This includes hunting rights, farming rights, taxation rights, and, crucially, political power.
Landowners ran Parliament, wrote the laws, controlled the courts and dominated the economy. House value was a proxy for national influence.
In the Georgian and Victorian eras, this shifted slightly. Rapid urbanisation meant that the gentry started to rent out property to the masses flocking to the cities.
This was the first time that ‘rental income’ became a top priority for property owners. As urban population grew, house prices increased.
By the early 20th century, social housing, mortgages and the idea of the ‘homeowner nation’ start to take shape.
After WWII, the UK government pursued aggressive policies to encourage ownership. This includes:
- Subsidised mortgages
- Affordable new builds
- Cheap credit.
This is when Britain’s property obsession truly took shape, because homeownership became a pillar of middle-class respectability.
Property values double, then triple, then skyrocket. In the 1970s, inflation burns through the economy, but it’s homeowners who benefit from it.
Those who bought in the 60s and 70s became property millionaires in the modern day without lifting a finger.
Fast-forward to today, and the numbers border on the surreal. Average UK house prices were around £3,000 in the 1950s.
Adjust for inflation, and that’s still only around £80,000 today. Yet the actual average price now sits above £285,000. In London? It’s £500,000 and up.
House values have outpaced wages for decades. This is only getting worse, with no sign of stopping – creating worrying questions about the future of homeownership in the UK.
What drives house values – in the past, and the present?
In medieval and Tudor England, value came from land, status, inheritance and the ability to extract labour from those forced to live on your land.
A Tudor noble’s home was surrounded by farmland, mills, villages and tenants paying rent for the privilege of survival. The home was the control centre of a small private empire.
As Britain industrialised, proximity to work drove value. A terrace near a Victorian factory was more valuable than a cottage in the countryside because it allowed workers to live near the booming industrial economy.
In the present day, value is driven by a far more complex stew of factors.
This ranges from location, schools, transport, employment, government policy, and interest rates. In recent years, remote working has thrown its hat into the ring as an extra factor.
These growing influences are coupled with the all-round scarcity of houses. To put it simply, population growth (both native, and immigration) in the UK is much faster than property development.
This means that, year after year, demand outstrips supply. Prices will rise, rise, and rise again for as long as this remains the case.
House value vs other assets
When you look at a property, not everyone instantly thinks about: ‘a place to live’. More and more, investors and citizens alike are viewing it as an investment.
With property prices showing such strong growth in the decades past, it’s seen as a safe place to put your money.
This isn’t the only option on offer, though. Brits love comparing house values to everything: gold, stocks, pensions, vintage wine, classic cars, Bitcoin, and art.
But the truth is that few assets have matched property’s steady, almost relentless upward trajectory.
Gold rises during crises, but stagnates in stable times. Stocks in the S&P500 tend to improve year-on-year, but not quite as considerably as property prices. You can find companies growing at faster rates elsewhere in the market – but the risk is much higher.
The same can be said about cryptocurrency. On paper, Bitcoin and its pals have offered an opportunity to grow your money faster than a house can.
But the huge volatility, and lack of many-decades evidence, means that most people stay well clear. Quite frankly, no one knows for certain what the future holds there.
Luxury goods usually require many years experience to make you savvy enough to pick the right pieces. For the rest of us, watches, handbags and art all look one and the same!
So, property is truly the asset that seems the easiest to understand for regular folk. Even the crashes don’t wipe out gains – they simply pause them.
After the financial crisis, house prices dipped by around 20% but then rebounded and kept climbing.
Housing wealth is now worth over £8 trillion in the UK. Compare that to the total value of all pensions (£2.5 trillion) or all UK-listed shares (£2.5 trillion).
Homes are not just places to live. They are retirement plans, collateral for loans, and even vehicles to drive up wealth. These have all contributed to the UK’s ongoing housing crisis.
A property’s selling price wasn’t always important – just ask the Tudors!
To truly appreciate how modern Britain values property, you need to look back at a time when houses were not the primary measure of wealth.
In Tudor England, the most valuable assets were almost always land and livestock. Sheep were so valuable that wool exports funded large portions of the national economy.
A wealthy Tudor merchant or landowner measured his status not by his house but by his acreage, his sheep, his horses, the productivity of his estate and the tenants tied to his land.
Houses mattered as symbols of status – that’s why so many people preferred manor houses, fortified homes, and grand halls.
But they weren’t ‘liquid’ assets in the modern sense. You couldn’t flip your house for profit in Tudor England.
The real wealth lay outside the home. Land, livestock, textiles, servants, metals, tools – those were the Tudor assets that mattered.
Property reigns supreme… but what else is out there?
When ranking modern assets by value and desirability, there’s no doubt that property is top of the tree. Yet, the assets in the places behind tend to be financial and digital.
Pensions are now the second-largest asset for most households. They grow slowly, tax-efficiently, and quietly. This is propped up by government incentives, to ensure that everyone has enough money to live through their retirement years.
Stocks and shares occupy the next place, largely due to their continued long-term growth and compound returns.
Cash follows, although inflation erodes its value relentlessly. Lots of people consider this the least wise long-term asset.
Businesses, intellectual property, and digital assets have climbed in the list. And luxury collectibles are up there too – such as watches, art, and vintage cars.
Expected vs actual value – how big is the gap?
By this point in the article, you’re probably getting the message loud and clear: British people care about their property, and its value, more than almost anything else.
So, this means that there’s inevitably a lot of tension when the subject comes up at the sharp end. In other words, when getting your house valued for a sale, some people can be… more than unhappy with the findings.
When the market wobbles, sellers go into denial. They stick to inflated prices even as buyers disappear and listings stagnate.
Yet, the gap between expectation and reality isn’t entirely the homeowner’s fault. Estate agents tend to overvalue properties to win instructions, knowing full well that they’ll convince the seller to reduce their price in a few weeks.
Emotion also distorts expectations. Homes contain memories, effort, identity. You’ll never find a buyer who cares about this as much as you (the seller) do!
Buyers also negotiate far more aggressively than sellers expect, especially in uncertain markets. A survey might find minor issues and suddenly the buyer wants £10,000 off.
This can seem unfair, but when there isn’t a queue of other buyers going out the door, you sometimes feel that your hands are tied. This can create bitterness and resentment – especially when there’s so much money on the line.
House value is not personal, but people treat it that way. And the ones who detach their ego when negotiating tend to (ironically) get the better deals. Who would’ve thought!
There’s a bit of logic behind house valuations (even if it doesn’t seem like it!)
Ask ten people how valuers determine house value and you’ll probably get ten different answers. Some assume that it’s ‘gut instinct’, while others are certain they make it up on the spot. Neither of these are true.
Valuers look at lots of different factors, starting with comparable properties sold recently in the area. This includes size, condition, layout, location and features.
The market conditions are equally important. The same property can sell for completely different prices only a few months apart!
Meanwhile, mortgage valuations (done by a lender) are stricter, more conservative and more suspicious. A lender wants security, not optimism.
Surveyors sometimes down-value properties because it protects the bank, not because the home lacks merit.
Estate agents often value high because they want your business. RICS surveyors value cautiously because they want accuracy. And buyers value emotionally, meaning it can sometimes be a total lottery what they come up.
With so many competing motives, house valuations can feel inconsistent. But the underlying truth is that a house is worth only what someone is willing to pay.
Anything else is irrelevant (unless the mortgage lender says you’ve overpaid, in which case, you may have a problem on your hands).
House value is Britain’s most powerful mirror
House value tells the story of Britain – both in the past, and in the present. It reflects centuries of economic shifts and political choices.
(It’s worth noting the big differences between UK and US property markets for an idea of each place’s culture!)
It also feels like an extension of the self – especially when you’ve lived there for so long, raised your family in it, and put your own personal twist on the décor.
And yet, for all its complexity, house value across entire markets comes down to something surprisingly simple: confidence.
When Britain feels positive about the future, house values almost always soar. And when it feels uncertain, the prices stall. Homes become the barometer of our collective mood.
Understanding house value is not just about understanding property, but about the mod of the British public as a whole.
And, as long as this country exists, it seems that the question ‘What’s my house worth?’ will continue to shape how we feel about ourselves, our choices… and our neighbours!
