Average UK house cost £2,200 at start of Queen's reign in 1952

In 1952, the time of Queen Elizabeth’s coronation, the average UK home cost just £2,200, according to research by the Halifax.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the average property price in the UK in March 2012 was £225,283, a rise of more than 100 times.

Sixty years ago, the country was recovering from the Second World War and some rationing was still in place.

In the early 1950s, two out of three homes had no hot water supply and only a third of householders were owner-occupiers.

But the property market has undergone some extraordinary changes over the past six decades, including a boom in home ownership and a rise in the number of people living alone.

The proportion of households in England occupied by married couples has plummeted from 70 per cent in 1971 to 40 per cent in 2011 but over the same period, the proportion of single person households has risen from 19 per cent to 33 per cent.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said: "The UK housing market has undergone some extraordinary changes over the last 60 years, reflecting the changing way we live our lives.

“Today, the typical UK household is very different compared with the 1950s following the substantial growth in home ownership and the shift towards single occupancy households."

And single person households are projected to replace married households as the most common form of household over the next decade.

The rental income the Queen receives from the Crown Estate now brings in £235 million annually, a 9,400 per cent increase on the £2.5 million it generated in 1952.

Meanwhile, one in six Brits is planning a street party to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee this holiday weekend, with the younger generation leading the way, analysis by HSBC reveals.

A quarter of those aged 25 to 34 plan to get into the festivities by planning a party with their neighbours, the highest of any age group, the lender said.

While Londoners and people in the South West of England are most likely to be planning a jubilee event, people in Scotland and the North East are least likely.

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