Pensioners own property worth £743.07 Billion

Retired homeowners have total property wealth owned outright of up to £743.07 billion in the face of ongoing housing market volatility, new research from independent equity release adviser Key Retirement Solutions shows.

Homeowners aged 65-plus have lost £6.38 billion in the past three months - equivalent to around £1,595 each - as the housing market stalled again, Key Retirement Solutions' Pensioner Property Equity Index shows.

And they are around £24 billion down since May 2010 when total property value was worth £767 billion.

The index revealed just four regions out of the 11 covered saw increases with seven suffering declines.

Over-65 homeowners in Scotland and Wales were the biggest losers seeing average loses of £11,946 and £5,334 with over-65s in the South West of England suffering losses of £1,889.

The biggest gains were recorded in the East of England where over-65s are £1,608 better off while pensioners in London, the South East and the East Midlands also benefited.

Key Retirement's figures show a third of property equity is owned by pensioners in London and the South East of England - in London over-65s own property without any mortgages worth £125.31 billion while in the South East pensioners own £122.08 billion of property without mortgages.

Dean Mirfin, Group Director at Key Retirement Solutions said:

"It is almost impossible to forecast the housing market nationally and the index shows that some areas are still seeing strong gains despite the ongoing volatility.
                                                                                                   
"What is clear for the over-65s is that they own considerable property wealth which still represents a massive investment success as they no longer have mortgages and will in most cases have bought more than 25 years ago.

"The equity release market is adapting to the new reality and we are seeing growth in the number of plans sold and the money released with more pensioners opting for drawdown products.

"They enable customers to benefit from lower borrowing costs today, allowing for increased flexibility to access further funds over time as and when required."