Pensioner property wealth worth £756bn

Over-65s in London, East of England, South East and the South West all saw quarterly gains and pulled away from the rest of the country suggested Key Retirement’s property index.

Dean Mirfin, group director at Key Retirement Solutions, said that despite a stabilised housing market across the UK a real regional divide had opened up.

He said: “But whatever happens in the housing market over-65s own considerable property wealth which represents a massive investment success as they no longer have mortgages on homes they may have bought more than 25 years ago.”

The national fall in equity, equivalent to £80 per person, masked major gains in London where the average over-65 homeowner gained £4,326 in the past three months while in the East of England they were £1,786 better off and £1,232 better off in the South East.

Annually over-65 homeowners in London have seen average gains of around £21,000 with the East of England £3,350 up and the South East £3,930 ahead.

All other regions are either slightly down or marginally ahead.

The biggest loss in the past three months was in the West Midlands with over-65s £2,768 worse off followed by average losses of £2,526 in the North East.

Key Retirement’s figures showed 24% of pensioner property equity is owned by over-65s in London and the South East.