How much property wealth is owned in this country by those in retirement?
The latest Key Pensioner Property Index places a value of £1.232 trillion on over-65 property wealth.
According to the analysis, over-65s enjoyed an increase of more than £561 a month, on average, in their property wealth, thanks to a continued surge in property prices.
The data shows that long-term property gains have been even more impressive, with average growth of 58% since 2010.
That longer-term growth suggests that over-65s have seen a combined increase in property values of more than £452 billion during the past 11 years, equating to £90,420 per household.
Despite this impressive growth in property wealth for the over-65s, income growth has not kept pace.
Over-65s have seen their income rise by £12 over the past 11 years, to an average of £331 a week.
Under-75s have an average income of £370 a week after their housing costs, compared with £302 a week for over-75s.
For over-65s who have paid off their mortgages, total property wealth is valued at £1.232 trillion, after growing by £8.436 billion in the past three months.
That growth in property value equates to an average gain of £1,685 for each over-65 homeowner, or £561 a month.
Recent property wealth gains in East Anglia and Wales were even more significant, at £10,000 and £8,300 respectively.
The only part of the UK to experience a fall in property values for the over-65s in the past three months was the South West, where average prices were £738 lower.
The analysis shows that the South East of England accounts for a fifth of all over-65 property wealth, with the South West and Anglia representing nearly 29%.
Will Hale, CEO at Key, said:
“Over the last three-months, the property market has been buoyant – spurred on by the extension of the Stamp Duty Holiday and the launch of Government guarantees for over 95% LTV mortgages. That said, the market performance over the last eleven years has generally been positive and over-65s homeowners have seen their property wealth increase by an average of £90,420 over the period.
“This puts into stark contrast the increase in average weekly pension income which jumped just £12 between 2010 and 2020. The retirement ambitions and needs of today’s over-65s as well as inflation make this increase seem even smaller and highlights how important it is for people to consider all their assets at retirement.
“Sitting in a quarter of a million pound home unable to keep the heating on or meet other day-to-day living costs makes no sense. Today’s modern equity release products can help people access some of the value tied up in their properties to address these issues and then through flexible features enable them to manage their borrowing by choosing to make ad hoc capital repayments or to service the interest if they wish.”
