A recent study by property firm Savills has found that over-65s in the UK hold a record estimated £2.587tn in net housing wealth, with homes worth a total of £2.735tn.
The analysis also reveals that the over-50s hold 78% of all privately held housing wealth in the country, with 50-64-year-olds holding an estimated £2.183tn in housing equity, including £679bn in the private rented sector.
Over the past decade, net housing wealth held by over-65 owner-occupiers has increased by more than £1.111tn.
The South East region has seen the highest growth in housing wealth for this age group, increasing by £248bn in the past 10 years.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Whilst falls in mortgaged homeownership among younger households have abated over the past five years, older households have benefitted from the bulk of growth in housing wealth over the past decade.”
He further explained: “The resulting generational divide in housing wealth sits at the heart of a lot of the tensions around housing, and how these older homeowners elect to deploy their equity has the potential to shape the market for the next generation.”
Cook also emphasised the importance of providing more retirement housing and incentives to make downsizing more appealing, which would help unlock family housing and equity for younger generations.
He said: “Such measures would help unlock much-needed family housing and equity that can be used to help younger generations to get on and trade up the housing ladder, especially given the vital role the Bank of Mum and Dad increasingly plays in accessing the UK housing market for the first time.”
