Over-60s hold £3.84 trillion of housing wealth in UK, property firm estimates

Owner‑occupiers aged 60 and over hold the majority (55%) of the UK’s net housing wealth in the UK, analysis from a property firm indicates.

Those aged 60 and over hold a total of £3.84 trillion of housing equity, Savills estimated – of which around £2.92 trillion is held in main residences, while other equity is in buy-to-let investments and other residential holdings.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Housing is clearly a massive store of wealth in the UK, especially for older homeowners who hold high proportions of both owner-occupier and buy-to-let housing wealth.

“Much of it is concentrated in London and the South East, where owner‑occupiers aged 60 (plus) alone hold just over £1 trillion in net housing wealth.

“Over the past year we have seen more robust first-time buyer transactions as mortgage regulation was relaxed, but the passing of equity between generations is still going to be a prominent feature of the housing market in coming years.

“Some of the pressure we are seeing on private landlords is likely to unlock some housing wealth, as older investors cash in on the gains they have made in retirement.

“But overcoming some of the psychological, economic and practical barriers to downsizing would potentially have a bigger overall impact on the housing market.”