Retired homeowners’ property wealth increases by £28 billion in six months
Over-65s property wealth hits new record high of £1.118 trillion, Key Pensioner Property Index shows.
Mortgage free retired homeowners saw their homes increase by nearly £1,000 a month over the past six months despite housing market uncertainty, analysis* from UK’s leading independent equity release adviser Key shows.
Total property wealth owned by over-65s who are mortgage free is at a new record high of £1.118 trillion with the average homeowners seeing the value of their homes grow by £28 billion, Key’s Pensioner Property Equity Index reveals.
Across Great Britain average gains for the over 65s in property wealth are worth £5,998 each with all areas of the country benefiting in the past six months. Homeowners in Yorkshire and Humberside (+£8,607) have seen the biggest increases followed by those in Wales (+£7,875) and the North West (+£7,546) have also done better than average (+£5,889).
Retired, mortgage free homeowners in London (+£1,655) have the least to celebrate and have only just matched over six months the same amount over-65s in Yorkshire & Humberside have achieved in a month (+£1,435). Key’s index demonstrates the long-term investment success of home ownership and the value of housing wealth for retirement planning.
Since Key started analysing the un-mortgaged property wealth of the over-65s in 2010 retired homeowners have seen growth of nearly £340 billion in property wealth – equivalent to an increase of 43%.
Will Hale, CEO at Key said: “Retired homeowners who have paid off their mortgage have made on average nearly £1,000 from their homes per month with over-65s in some parts of the country experiencing even bigger gains. Those in Yorkshire and Humberside have seen the biggest increases while those in London have seen more modest gains.
“The numbers are fascinating but the basic fact is that no matter what happens year to year to house prices many over-65s will have considerable property wealth which can transform their standard of living in retirement and help family members.
“Increasingly equity release customers are able to make substantial gifts to family members including their adult children or even grandchildren with money being used to clear debts, fund university fees and pay for house deposits and weddings. Customers can also use the money to ‘age-proof’ their own homes and preserve wealth for the family.
The table below shows the detailed picture across Great Britain with all areas seeing growth.
| Region | Average change in value of home equity for homeowners aged 65+ (past six months) | Combined change in value of home equity for homeowners aged 65+ (past six months) |
| South East | Up £6,103 | +£4.003 billion |
| London | Up £1,655 | +£609.39 million |
| South West | Up £6,328 | +£2.003 billion |
| North West | Up £7,546 | +£5.063 billion |
| East Anglia | Up £3,133 | +£1.478 billion |
| East Midlands | Up £7,527 | +£3.129 billion |
| West Midlands | Up £7,376 | +£2.643 billion |
| Yorks/Humbs | Up £8,607 | +£2.483 billion |
| Scotland | Up £5,499 | +£1.550 billion |
| Wales | Up £7,875 | +£2.083 billion |
| North East | Up £4,103 | +£1.128 billion |
| GREAT BRITAIN | Up £5,998 | +£28.139 billion |
The table below shows over-65s in the North West are most likely to own outright with 671,000 having paid off mortgages compared with 656,000 in the South East. However nearly a fifth of all property wealth held by retired homeowners is in the South East.
| Region | Estimated property equity in homes owned outright by people aged 65+ | Estimated percentage of total value of property equity belonging to people aged 65+ | Number of households in the region owned outright by people aged 65+ |
| South East | £214.370 billion | 19.16% | 656,000 |
| London | £173.340 billion | 15.49% | 366,000 |
| South West | £160.514 billion | 14.35% | 626,600 |
| East Anglia | £139.026billion | 12.42% | 472,000 |
| North West | £110.719 billion | 9.89% | 671,000 |
| East Midlands | £82.787 billion | 7.40% | 431,200 |
| West Midlands | £70.272 billion | 6.28% | 358,400 |
| Yorks/Humbs | £47.289 billion | 4.23% | 288,600 |
| Scotland | £42.725 billion | 3.82% | 282,000 |
| Wales | £42.567 billion | 3.80% | 264,600 |
| North East | £35.333 billion | 3.16% | 275,000 |
| GREAT BRITAIN | £1.118 trillion | 4,691,400 |
