Retired UK home owners holding considerable wealth in property

Retired home owners in the UK have total property wealth of £756.3 billion despite ongoing housing market volatility, according to a new analysis of the sector. Over 65s in London saw average gains of £4,326 in the past three months while in the East of England average gains were £3,350 and £3,930 in the South East, the information from independent equity release adviser Key Retirement Solutions shows.

Its Pensioner Property Equity Index also shows that all other regions, apart from the South West, saw falls in the past three months and across the UK as a whole over 65s lost a total of £368.9 million. However, the national figure masked major gains in London where the average over 65 homeowner saw their property wealth increase by £4,326 over the past three months, East of England saw gains of £1,786 and £1,232 in the South East.

Retired homeowners in London have seen average gains of around £21,000 this year with the East of England £3,350 up and the South East £3,930 ahead. All other regions are either slightly down or marginally ahead.

The biggest loss in the past three months was in the West Midlands with over 65s some £2,768 worse off followed by average losses of £2,526 in the North East. Key Retirement’s figures show 24% of pensioner property equity is owned by over 65s in London and the South East. In London over 65s own property without any mortgages worth £132.71 billion while in the South East pensioners own £124.07billion of property without mortgages.

Quote from PropertyCommunity.com : “The Olympics in 2012 will definitely have a huge economic impact across London however the economy will be out of recession by then. I think London property market will perform very well in 2012.”

‘The housing market has stabilised but there is a real regional divide with big gains in London, the East of England and the South East. The rest of the country has either seen marginal gains or relatively small losses this year,’ said Dean Mirfin, group director at Key Retirement Solutions, adding, ‘But whatever happens in the housing market over 65s own considerable property wealth which represents a massive investment success as they no longer have mortgages on homes they may have bought more than 25 years ago’.

‘The equity release market is seeing strong growth in the number of plans sold and the money released as more pensioners opt for drawdown products. They enable customers to benefit from lower borrowing costs today, allowing for increased flexibility to access further funds over time as and when required,’ he added.