Over-65s have seen their property wealth increase by more than £561 a month, according to the latest Pensioner Property Index from Key.

The equity release adviser suggested the housing market is continuing to surge thanks to the stamp duty holiday as well as Budget measures designed to help first-time buyers.

Since Key started analysing the mortgage-free property wealth of the over-65s in 2010, homeowners have seen growth of 58% – a total of more than £452bn – which is equivalent to £90,420 per household in the past 11 years.
 
While pensioner property wealth has increased significantly, Key also highlighted that over-65s have not seen the same boost to their incomes, with the average pensioner income only rising by £12 to £331 per week over the last 11 years. Under-75s have average weekly incomes of £370 after housing costs compared, with £302 for over-75s.

In total, property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off mortgages is valued at £1.23trn, after increasing by £8.44bn over the past three months.

“Over the last three months, the property market has been buoyant – spurred on by the extension of the stamp duty holiday and the launch of government guarantees for over 95% LTV mortgages,” Key CEO, Will Hale, commented.

“That said, the market performance over the last 11 years has generally been positive and over-65s homeowners seen their property wealth increase by an average of £90,420 over the period.

“This puts into stark contrast the increase in average weekly pension income which jumped just £12 between 2010 and 2020. The retirement ambitions and needs of today’s over-65s as well as inflation make this increase seem even smaller and highlights how important it is for people to consider all their assets at retirement.  

“Sitting in a quarter of a million pound home unable to keep the heating on or meet other day-to-day living costs makes no sense. Today’s modern equity release products can help people access some of the value tied up in their properties to address these issues.”

Share Story: