Recovering house prices in the first half of 2024 have boosted the total value of the nation’s property equity to an unprecedented £5.7 trillion says the Equity Release Council.
The record figure surpasses the previous high of £5.6 trillion from mid-2022, when the housing market was buoyed by pent-up demand after the pandemic.
Total UK mortgage debt of £1.6 trillion compares with an overall property market value of £7.3 trillion. This gives an average loan-to-value (LTV) of just 22.2%, with the remaining 77.8% of the housing market effectively owned in equity or cash.
This LTV has dropped from 28.9% ten years ago, and means for every £10,000 of property owned, £7,720 is backed by cash with mortgages covering only a minor share.
Government data shows more than half (55%) of homeowners in England are aged 55+ and 76% of over-55s own their own home outright.
The council’s analysis indicates the average over-55 owner-occupied household in the UK has £321,213 of equity in their home.
While the most property-rich regions are concentrated in the south of England, every region and constituent country of the UK is home to significant reserves of housing wealth among its older population, which add up to more than £3.4tn in total.
Regional property wealth among over-55 homeowner households
| Country/region | Net Property wealth per over-55 homeowner household | Total property wealth among over-55 homeowners |
| UK | £321,213 | £3,434,895,186,557 |
| Great Britain | £324,241 | £3,367,809,644,113 |
| England | £340,676 | £3,018,834,898,896 |
| South East | £426,749 | £705,679,175,313 |
| East of England | £378,686 | £419,187,808,196 |
| London | £583,618 | £411,409,806,553 |
| South West | £353,940 | £394,675,899,380 |
| North West | £245,928 | £294,603,213,216 |
| West Midlands | £282,525 | £260,620,763,299 |
| East Midlands | £273,585 | £243,455,563,854 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £240,245 | £214,009,005,744 |
| Scotland | £214,743 | £209,529,176,778 |
| Wales | £240,436 | £132,174,188,611 |
| North East | £183,950 | £69,835,022,579 |
| Northern Ireland | £206,417 | £63,319,934,537 |
Source: Equity Release Council analysis of Government and Bank of England data
For households, the £321,213 of equity in the average UK over-55 homeowner’s property is worth almost 10 times the average pensioner couple’s annual net income of £38,168.
Jim Boyd, chief executive of the Equity Release Council, comments: “We have seen the property market start to recover which has pushed the total value of unmortgaged residential property in the UK to over £5.7 trillion.
“Much of this is in the hands of the older generation and our findings make it crystal clear that your prospects of living comfortably in retirement will rest on firmer foundations if you own your own home and include property wealth in your financial plans. “… We urge the new Government to look beyond pensions to improve retirement incomes and stimulate the economy. There is a compelling need for Government to set out its vision for property wealth in later life funding: a thriving later life mortgage market can help to achieve both of these outcomes.”
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