tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9968565.post-1146477765619959662006-05-01T10:00:00.000Z2006-05-01T10:05:21.520ZEarly next month the total amount of money Britons owe on their homes will pass the £1 trillion (i.e. £1,000 billion) mark. <br /><br />That is according to figures published today by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which points out that while a staggering amount, the figure is less worrying than it might at first seem. <br /><br />While the amount of money Britons owe in mortgages has risen, the value of unmortgaged property has risen far faster. This means that UK home-owners are currently sitting on £3.6 trillion worth of unmortgaged property wealth. <br /><br />"The £1 trillion threshold is clearly a landmark but it does not have any particular significance for policy-makers or others," said CML director general Michael Coogan. <br /><br />"Although it is a milestone, it will perhaps soon be forgotten as home-ownership and mortgage lending continue to grow further. <br /><br />"Over time, owner-occupation has the potential to create wealth and independence for people, and we will continue to work for the expansion of sustainable home-ownership." <br /><br />The CML points out that housing equity is the largest component of the total wealth that is held by UK residents. <br /><br />This increase has been fuelled by mortgage lending, with the number of people owning their own home in the UK increasing from 60 per cent of the population 20 years ago to 70 per cent now. <br /><br />And the growth is not set to stop there, with 80 per cent of Britons wanting to own their own home and the government setting a goal of another million home owners by 2010. <br /><br />The CML reports that even with this expansion, signs that home ownership has reached its "natural limit" are thin on the ground, meaning the amount of mortgage debt ? and housing wealth ? is set to keep climbing. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.financechoices.co.uk/mortgages.html">Click here to find the best mortgages with the Finance Choices mortgage guide</a><br /><br /><br />Bruce Waynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05180072217431083459noreply@blogger.com