Retired homeowners have seen their property wealth grow by £9.24 billion since the start of the year as house prices continue to climb earning the average pensioner more than £500 a month, new analysis* from leading over-55s financial specialist KeyRetirement.com shows. Pensioners who own their homes outright have earned an average of £2,096 tax-free each from their houses since the end of January taking their property wealth to a new record high.
But over-65s in London have seen property price rises of nearly £21,000 – around 10 times the national average – while Scottish pensioners have suffered losses of more than £8,500.
The short-term swings do not tell the whole story however - in the six years since Key started monitoring the housing wealth of the over-65s total pensioner property wealth has increased by around 21%, or £161 billion, which is worth around £39,000 on average for every homeowner.
Its Pensioner Property Index shows over-65 homeowners now own property £926.41billion outright highlighting the growing importance of investment in homes for retirement planning.
That is being reflected in the continuing expansion of the equity release market with customers releasing property wealth taking around £76,000 on average rising to more than £134,000 in London.
The index reveals major differences in the property market across the country with six regions - London, the South East, Wales, the South West, East Anglia and the East Midlands still seeing strong growth.
