THE value of Scotland's private housing stock has almost doubled over the last decade.
New figures from the Halifax show that the country's private homes were worth a combined £333 billion this year - up from £170bn in 2004.
This is the second largest increase in the UK, coming behind London which has seen the value of owner-occupied homes more than double from £545 billion in 2004 to £1.14 trillion in 2014.
Across the UK as a whole, private housing stock broke through the £5 trillion mark this year, increasing by £1.83 trillion over the last decade.
The Halifax found that around one-third of this extra value was added in the last year alone as the property market recovery has taken off.
Over the past 12 months, the value of UK housing stock has surged by £630bn or 14 per cent.
This represents the fastest annual growth since a 22 per cent year-on-year rise was recorded in 2002.
Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said: "The total value of all privately owned residential dwellings in the UK continues to increase, and over the past decade the value of housing stock has grown by £1.8 trillion, with a third of this rise coming in the past year alone.
"An increase in average property values combined with a rise in the number of private new builds has contributed to the increase in the value of housing stock across all UK regions, although the growth is stronger in London and the south-east."
The figures also show a significant rise in housing equity of £1.4 trillion over 10 years.
This is because the value of private housing stock had grown by more than four times that of mortgage debt, which has increased by 47 per cent.
Mr Ellis added: "Aggregate housing equity held by UK households is in a healthy state with total housing assets worth £3.76 trillion more than the total value of mortgage debt.
"Regionally there is wide variation in housing equity but importantly after the recent housing downturn all regions are showing increasing equity levels."
The Halifax used a combination of government and commercial figures to make its calculations.
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