Homeowners aged 65-plus have gained a total if £863m in the past three months, equivalent to £244 each, as house prices stabilise says Key Retirement Solutions’ Pensioner Property Equity Index.
However they are still more than £17.5bn down, around £4,000 each, since the start of the year.
Pensioners in London and Scotland made the most gains at £3,711 and £3,754 respectively in property prices while those in Wales and the East of England suffered the biggest losses at £5,234 and £4,760 respectively.
Key Retirement’s figures show a third of property equity is owned by pensioners in London and the South East of England. In London, over-65s own property without any mortgages worth £125.78bn while in the South East pensioners own £122.bn of property without mortgages.
Dean Mirfin, group director at Key Retirement Solutions, said: “The housing market has stabilised in the past three months but remains very volatile. The gains of the past three months are welcome but don’t make much a dent in losses this year.
“However the over-65s own considerable property wealth which still represents a massive investment success as they no longer have mortgages and will in most cases have bought more than 25 years ago.
“The equity release market is seeing a rise in the number of plans sold with more pensioners opting for drawdown products which enable them to benefit from lower borrowing costs today, allowing for increased flexibility to access further funds over time as and when required.”
