The housing market and household balance sheets

Abstract

This article investigates the impact of the significant rise and fall in UK house prices over the last decade on the balance sheets and behaviour of households – specifically relating to consumption, saving, indebtedness and wealth. Data is taken from the quarterly UK Economic Accounts which records income, spending and saving flows as well as the household sector’s holdings of financial assets and liabilities. This article is intended to follow up on the ‘Recent developments in the UK housing market’ article published in last month’s Economic and Labour Market Review.