Once upon a time cash was stashed under the mattress or in the freezer to guard against loss, but now we are using the money tied up in bricks and mortar to fund luxuriant lifestyles.
Property currently accounts for 55 per cent of the nations wealth and could grow by over 60 per cent in the next two years if current trends continue.
Financial assets such as life assurances, pensions, shares and savings have traditionally been a large part of individual wealth making up 58 per cent of total household wealth in 1996 compared to the 42 per cent share held by property.
In the past 5 years though, the value of non-financial assets such as property have rocketed by 12.8 per cent. However the actual amounts held therein vary from region to region.
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On average, South-Easterners hold the most equity in their homes at £210,077 due to recent rapid house price growth. Those living the in East come in second with an average of £183,805, followed by Londoners at £169,477. Homeowners in the North East, North West and Scotland those which have seen more moderate house price growth over the past decade all hold the least within their walls.
Its not just homes that are proving to be a veritable nest egg as the average Brit has £14,103 stashed away in savings, where women hold an average of £4,000 less then their male counterparts.
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However over the past three years, womens savings have grown at a faster rate than mens at an average of 9.3 per cent each year.
Ali Crossley, director of lifetime mortgages at Prudential, says: It is interesting to see how important property has become in constituting our main source of financial wealth. House prices have risen significantly over the last 20 years and this is one of the reasons why we have seen such a shift in wealth components.
This is good news for people who are considering using their property as part of their retirement planning portfolio, especially for those who will need to supplement their state and work pension. The equity tied up in their homes could prove crucial in boosting their funds, and allowing them to live the retirement they desire.
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