Retired homeowners have earned £1,700 from their houses in the past three months as their property wealth hit a record high, according to analysis from Key Retirement.
Total property wealth owned by over-65s who have paid off their mortgages grew to a new record high of £1.072 trillion in February.
More than £7.66 billion has been added to the property wealth of the UK’s over-65 homeowners since November as the housing market continues to expand across most of the country.
Since Key started analysing over-65s housing wealth in 2010 retired homeowners have seen growth of 37% – or £290 billion – which is worth around £66,000 on average for every homeowner. Owning a home has been worth around £9,400 a year for over-65s.
Key’s Pensioner Property Equity Index shows only over-65s in London and Scotland saw the value of their total property wealth drop in the past three months. However retired London homeowners still own £177 billion of property wealth.
Retired homeowners in East Anglia saw the biggest growth in the past three months, and are now £4,265 better off while over-65s in the South East, Yorkshire & Humberside and the North East all saw gains of more than £3,400 each.
Key says the ongoing strength of the housing market highlights how property wealth can make a major contribution to retirement standards of living as the equity release market expands. Average equity release customers are cashing in £78,000 of property wealth and as much as £143,000 in London.
Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement, said: “Property investment has consistently delivered for retired homeowners over the past seven years and the £1,700 gained over the past three months underlines its success story.
“During a period of historically low interest rates and investment market volatility, pensioners who have paid off mortgages have been able to rely on tax-free returns from their homes no matter what the short-term ups and downs have been.
“The average payouts taken through equity release of £78,000 are enabling retired homeowners to address a wide range of financial issues, including helping family and/or friends, to paying for holidays and home improvements. Repaying debt is also a major reason for releasing equity.”