NEARLY half of Yorkshire homeowners undervalue their home by an average of £39,000, according to a new study.

New analysis by Zoopla, conducted as part of its inaugural Hidden Equity Survey, has found 43 per cent of homeowners in Yorkshire and Humberside are undervaluing their homes by an average of £39,312.

The Hidden Equity Survey of 2,000 UK homeowners who sold or have had their home valued by an estate agent in the past three years establishes for the first time how accurate UK homeowners’ estimations of the value of their homes really are. It found that just a third of homeowners in the region (35%) have an accurate idea of the value of their home.

Less than a quarter (22 per cent) of those in Yorkshire and Humberside said their home was worth less than they thought – however, the overestimate was found to be significant.

Those that overestimated the value of their home did so by an average of £56,890.

When all the results of the survey are taken into account, the net result is that the average home in Yorkshire is worth £4,203 more than its owner realises. A fifth (20 per cent) of those in the region whose home was worth more than they realised said they simply couldn’t believe what their home was worth.

Across the UK, the average property was found to be worth £9,470 more than its owner realised, with the total amount of hidden equity sitting at £237 billion.

Finding out their home was more than they thought had a significant impact, with eight in ten (81%) in the region saying the additional money ‘improved their lifestyle’. Among those who went on to sell their home for more than expected and benefit from the hidden equity, over half (59%) said they were able to move into a better property than they expected as a result. For the 65 per cent in Yorkshire and Humberside who did not know the true value of their home until they got it valued by an estate agent, four in ten (41%) said they would have made different financial decisions in the years prior if they had been aware of their hidden equity.