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