UK homeowners are showing great discipline, as they have been pumping more of their income into paying down their mortgage. The Bank of England figures are showing households of the UK are making great efforts to reduce their debt ever since the crisis occurred. A total of 44.2 billion has been paid toward mortgages over and above their pay schedules.

During the decade before the crisis, homeowners routinely cashed out some of their equity, as a source of cheap personal loans. For example, 2006 saw an enormous amount of equity withdrawn, totaling 50 billion pounds.

The chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Simon Rubinsohn, commented on the state of mind most homeowners now have about equity with regard to the current economic climate, saying: "Homeowners no longer view their property as a cheap source of finance to boost their spending power.

"One might have expected the recovery in house prices through the latter part of last year and into the first half of 2010 to have encouraged homeowners to again draw down their capital, but the failure to so reflects the increasing caution of property owners."

Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, remarked on the use of home equity, saying: "There is an ongoing desire of many people to improve their personal balance sheets given high debt levels and serious concerns and uncertainties over the economic situation.

"Furthermore, extremely low savings rates have made it much more attractive for many people to use any spare funds to reduce their mortgages. In particular, people may be using the extra money that is resulting from their much reduced mortgage interest payments to reduce the balance that they still owe on their houses."

With consumer confidence dipping again last month, repayment of personal debt equaled 120 million pounds more than was borrowed.