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Retired homeowners earn £1,700 from their houses

22 March 2017

  • Over-65 homeowners’ property wealth hits new record of £1.072 trillion, Key Retirement Pensioner Property Index shows
  • Total over-65 homeowner property wealth grew £7.4 billion since November
  • Average homeowner gains £66,000 since 2010
 
Retired homeowners have earned £1,700 from their houses in the past three months as their property wealth hit a record high, new analysis* from leading over-55s financial specialist keyadvice.co.uk shows.
 
Total property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off their mortgages grew to a new record high of £1.072 trillion in February.
 
More than £7.66 billion has been added to the property wealth of the UK’s over-65 homeowners since November as the housing market continues to expand across most of the country.
 
The long-term success story of property investment is underlined by Key’s index. Since the group started analysing over-65s housing wealth in 2010 retired homeowners have seen growth of 37% - or £290 billion - which is worth around £66,000 on average for every homeowner. Owning a home has been worth around £9,400 a year for over-65s.
 
Key’s Pensioner Property Equity Index shows only over-65s in London and Scotland saw the value of their total property wealth drop in the past three months. However retired London homeowners still own £177 billion of property wealth.
 
Retired homeowners in East Anglia saw the biggest growth in the past three months, and are now £4,265 better off while over-65s in the South East, Yorkshire & Humberside and the North East all saw gains of more than £3,400 each.
 
The ongoing strength of the housing market highlights how property wealth can make a major contribution to retirement standards of living as the equity release market expands. Average equity release customers** are cashing in £78,000 of property wealth and as much as £143,000 in London.
 
Dean Mirfin, Technical Director at www.keyadvice.co.uk said: “Property investment has consistently delivered for retired homeowners over the past seven years and the £1,700 gained over the past three months underlines its success story.
 
“During a period of historically low interest rates and investment market volatility, pensioners who have paid off mortgages have been able to rely on tax-free returns from their homes no matter what the short-term ups and downs have been.
 
“The average payouts taken through equity release of £78,000 are enabling retired homeowners to address a wide range of financial issues, including helping family and/or friends, to paying for holidays and home improvements. Repaying debt is also a major reason for releasing equity”
                                                        
The table below shows the detailed picture across Great Britain
 

Region
Average change in value of home equity for homeowners aged 65+ (between November 2016 and February index) Combined change in value of home equity for homeowners aged 65+ (between November 2016 and February index)
South East increase of £3,417 +£2.241 billion
London decrease of £3,846 -£1.407 billion
South West increase of £1,546 +£968.723 million
North West increase of £1,414 +£948.794 million
East Anglia increase of £4,265 +£2.013 billion
East Midlands increase of £1,349 +£581.688 million
West Midlands increase of £777 +£278.476 million
Yorks/Humbs increase of £3,586 +£44.728 million
Scotland decrease of £1,453 -£409.746 million
Wales increase of £1,789 +£473.369 million
North East increase of £3,418 +£939.95 million
GREAT BRITAIN +£1,678 +£7.663 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.
 

Region
Estimated property equity in homes owned outright by people aged 65+ (November 2016) Estimated percentage of total value of property equity belonging to people aged 65+ (November 2016) Number of households in the region owned outright by people aged 65+
South East £207.313 billion 19.34% 656,000
London £177.071 billion 16.52% 366,000
South West £152.143 billion 14.19% 626,600
East Anglia £132.874 billion 12.39% 472,000
North West £102.165 billion 9.53% 671,000
East Midlands £76.231 billion 7.11% 431,200
West Midlands £64.987 billion 6.06% 358,400
Yorks/Humbs £44.728 billion 4.17% 288,600
Scotland £39.917 billion 3.72% 282,000
Wales £39.207 billion 3.66% 264,600
North East £35.373 billion 3.3% 275,000
GREAT BRITAIN £1.072 trillion   4,409,400
 
 
Anyone looking to release equity from their home can get Key’s independent guide to equity release by calling 0800 531 6010 or visiting: www.keyadvice.co.uk/equity-release/request-a-free-guide
 

Page last updated: Thursday 23 December 2021