Over-60s hold £3.84tn in UK housing wealth, Savills finds
Over-60s hold £3.84tn in UK housing wealth, Savills finds
Savills analysis shows older homeowners control £3.84 trillion of UK housing wealth, with much concentrated in London and the South East.
More than half of the UK's net housing wealth, 55 percent, is held by owner-occupiers aged 60 and over, a Savills analysis shows. The firm estimates this demographic controls £3.84 trillion in housing equity, with about £2.92 trillion tied up in main residences and the rest spread across buy-to-let properties and other housing.
London and the South East account for a large share, with owner-occupiers aged 60-plus holding just over £1 trillion in net housing wealth there.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, notes that housing serves as a massive store of wealth for older homeowners who own both main homes and buy-to-let properties. Over the past year, first-time buyer transactions have picked up as mortgage regulation relaxed, but the passing of equity between generations is likely to be a prominent feature of the housing market in coming years.
Some pressure on private landlords could unlock housing wealth, though overcoming barriers to downsizing would potentially have a bigger overall impact on the market. The background context includes softer homebuyer demand across the UK in March, driven by higher mortgage rates and global uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict.
