The Jubilee coincides with the 70th anniversary of the release of the building society's first house price data
To mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Nationwide Building Society looked back at house prices 70 years ago and compared it to the current figures.
“2022 marks the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and it is also 70 years since we produced our first house price data. The housing market was very different back in 1952, with just 32% of households owning their own home, compared to 65% today,” Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said.
According to Nationwide, the UK average house price in 1952 was £1,891, which is around £62,000 in today’s money.
The latest Nationwide House Price Index released on Wednesday found that the average house price in April was £269,914.
Read more: UK house prices rise for 10th consecutive month.
This means that current average house prices are 4.3 times higher than 1952 levels in real terms, adjusted for retail price inflation.
Equity release adviser Key Later Life Finance earlier said that, not taking inflation into account, house price increased 138 times when comparing 1952 prices to the present.
Estate agent Savills also reported that the typical house price 70 years ago was just under £2,000 – equating to around £56,000 today, when inflation is considered.
Read more: How much have house prices increased during the Queen’s reign?
Meanwhile, Gardner added that in 1952, the typical house cost four times average annual earnings, but today the average home costs a record high 6.9 times earnings.
However, borrowing costs were higher back then, with the bank rate at 4%, compared to 1% currently.
“In the early 1950s, almost all mortgages were advanced by building societies, where the overwhelming majority were small, locally based lenders. In 1952, there were 800 societies operating in the UK, compared to 43 today,” Gardner explained.
