Pensioners own £765bn worth of property

The total value of the homes owned by retired people in the UK has recovered to stand currently at £765.18bn.

According to the Pensioner Property Equity Index published quarterly by equity release provider Key Retirement Solutions, a third of that housing wealth is located in London and the South East of England.

The index indicates that the over-65s are sitting on unmortgaged property worth £123.4bn in the South East, while retirees in London have £122.6bn worth of equity in their homes.

The South West of England runs a close third, with older property owners here worth £115.6 in bricks and mortar, representing 15% of the total housing stock in the UK.

Dean Mirfin, business development director at Key Retirement Solutions, says:

"The housing market has been through a tough time and there are still doubts over the strength of the recovery. "However it is undeniable that the over-65s own considerable property wealth outright which represents a massive investment success as many of them will have bought their homes more than 20 years ago.

"The property wealth owned outright by pensioners represents a potential source of income for the over-65s particularly when other sources of retirement income are under pressure from low interest rates and annuity rates."

The index, which was launched this year and will be published quarterly, shows that homeowners aged 65 and over in the North West of England are the most likely to own their home outright having paid off their mortgage in full.

Key Retirement’s analysis shows 684,200 own their homes without mortgages compared with 657,800 in the South West. However higher property prices in the South East and London means over-65 homeowners there have more property wealth.