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 financial specialist KeyRetirement shows.
Total property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off their mortgages grew to a new record high of £1 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.
Since 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 theover-65s.
However, over-65s in Scotland saw the value of their property drop by £1,453 in the past three months, while those in London experienced a fall of £3,846.
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.
Dean Mirfin, technical director at KeyRetirement, 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 or friends, to paying for holidays and home improvements. Repaying debt is also a major reason for releasing equity.”
Change in value of home equity for over-65s
| 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 |
