Retired homeowners have gained more than £7,900 each in property wealth in the past year, according to analysis from Key Retirement.
Total property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off their mortgages is near a record high of more than £1.1trn after growing £37bn in the past year, Key Retirement’s pensioner property equity index has found.
Since the equity release specialist advice firm started analysing over-65s housing wealth in 2010, retired homeowners have seen growth of 41 per cent or £321bn which is worth around £68,500 on average for every over-65 homeowner.
Dean Mirfin, chief product officer at Key Retirement said: "Total property wealth of more than £1trn means pensioners who have paid off mortgages can rely on using their homes to generate tax-free returns no matter what happens in the short and medium term.
"The average homeowner is releasing through equity release the equivalent of the gains made since 2010 and property wealth is having a dramatic effect on the standards of retirement living for many thousands across the UK."
Over-65s in the south east and East Anglia have been the biggest winners with gains of more than £1,000 a month while retired homeowners in the West Midlands have made £960 a month.
The only region to see an average fall in the value of home equity among owners aged 65 or more over the course of the past year was London, where this has gone down by around £5,700.
But this group still owns an estimated total property equity of £176bn - second only to the south east where this figure is £213bn.
damian.fantato@ft.com
