Owner-occupiers aged 60 and over hold 55% of the UK’s net housing wealth, according to the latest analysis from property firm Savills.
Savills estimates the group has £3.84trn in housing equity, including £2.92trn in prime residences, £0.62trn in buy-to-let properties and £0.29trn in other residential holdings.
wealth over time
Overall, the total amount of net housing wealth in the UK is set to increase by £2.45trn (+54%) over the ten years to the end of 2025. At one time, the amount of mortgage lending increased by £0.45trn (+35%).
However, modest house price growth over three consecutive years means total housing wealth accretion has slowed significantly, increasing by only 3.4% or £230bn (0.23trn).
Graph 1: UK housing wealth over time
Source: Savills Research
“Housing in the UK is clearly a huge store of wealth, particularly for older home owners, who have a high proportion of both owner and occupiers and buy to let housing properties,” says Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills. “The majority of this is concentrated in London and the South East, where owner-occupiers aged 60+ alone hold more than £1 trillion in net housing wealth.”
“Over the past year we have seen stronger first-time buyer transactions as mortgage regulation was relaxed, but the transfer of equity between generations will still remain a key feature of the housing market in the years to come.
“The pressure we are seeing on private landlords is likely to unlock some housing wealth, as older investors cash in on gains made in retirement. But overcoming some of the psychological, economic and practical barriers to downsizing will have a potentially larger overall impact on the housing market.”
property by tenure
Research shows that older homeowners have been the primary beneficiaries of growth over the past decade.
Nearly half of the UK’s £7trn net housing wealth (£3.45trn) is held by non-mortgaged owners.
According to Savills, this is 88% more than the £1.84 trillion of housing wealth held by mortgaged owner-occupiers (who have £1.30 trillion of related debt) and almost three times more than the £1.17 trillion of net housing wealth held by private landlords.
Graph 2: Housing loans and equity by tenure (£bn)
Source: Savills Research
They own more than half of Britain’s housing wealth–60
Overall this means that across all their property holdings, people over 60 own 55% of Britain’s privately held housing wealth.
Source: Savills Research
The wealth of old owner-occupiers is highest in the South East
On a regional basis, the proportion of homeowner wealth held by people over 60 is highest in the South West and North East (60% each).
However, owner-occupier wealth among people over 60 is highest in the South East, home to retirees’ preferred lifestyle hotspot. People over 60 here own £602 billion of housing wealth. That’s as much as Scotland, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber combined.
While there are fewer older home owners in the capital, those aged 60 or over still hold £428 billion in housing wealth, bringing the total in London and the South East to more than £1 trillion.
Graph 2: Owner-occupier housing wealth of over 60s
Source: Savills Research