Mortgage debt nears £1 trillion

It is not just big country houses that are worth a lot

Mortgage debt has almost reached £1 trillion, according to figures from the Bank of England.

An extra £8.5bn was borrowed to buy homes in April, bringing the outstanding amount of mortgage debt to exactly £999.2bn.

But the value of unmortgaged property is much higher, at £3.6 trillion.

With people owing another £192bn on credit cards, loans and hire purchase agreements, total personal debt now stands at £1.191 trillion.

Outstanding mortgage debt is now certain to go through the £1 trillion level next month.

But while the figure stands as a landmark, Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) chief Michael Coogan believes it does not have any particular significance in terms of policy-making.

"Although it is a milestone, it will perhaps soon be forgotten as home-ownership and mortgage lending continue to grow further," he said recently.

The CML regards the rising figure as an indicator of growing home ownership: up from 60% of the population to 70% in the past two decades.

The CML also argues that there are few signs that home ownership has reached a natural limit. It says it expects continuing growth of both home ownership and mortgage lending in the foreseeable future.