According to the equity release advisor’s Pensioner Property Equity Index, homeowners aged over 65 experienced average increases in value of £9,373 on their houses between May 2017 and May 2018.
Regional differences mean retired homeowners in the East Midlands have emerged the biggest winners when it comes to property wealth, with their homes climbing in value by nearly £1,170 a month.
Meanwhile, pensioners in the West Midlands saw gains of £1,002, in Scotland values went up by £989 and in East Anglia by £973.
Investment success
Key said there were no areas which had recorded price falls and it said the findings highlighted the long-term investment success of homeownership.
It’s not just the year to May 2018 which had yielded strong gains for homeowners, since Key began analysing the housing wealth of over 65s in 2010 it said retired homeowners had seen growth of 41% or £320 billion in total.
Dean Mirfin, chief product officer at Key, said these average gains of £9,373 in the past year showed how retired homeowners were continuing to see the benefits of property investments.
Helping family members
Even with the short-term changes in house prices, he said, many over-65s would have considerable property wealth which could potentially make a contribution to their standard of living but also the wellbeing of other family members.
He explained: “We are seeing an increasing number of customers choosing to gift some or all of the proceeds of equity release to help loved ones in a variety of ways, for some this is helping children or grandchildren take their first step on the housing ladder, for others to pay for expenses such as weddings.
“In many cases, though, it is just to help them with money at a time when they need it most. Equity release is increasingly benefitting the whole family.”
Key’s index also revealed the areas of the UK in which over-65s were most likely to own their property outright.
The North West topped the list, with 671,000 people having paid off their mortgages compared with 656,000 in the South East. Nearly a fifth of all property wealth, however, was held by homeowners in the South East.
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