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Retirees sitting on £335bn in property wealth

Adam Williams
Written By:
Adam Williams
Posted:
Updated:
23/07/2015

The retired and those approaching retirement are currently sat on more than £300bn of property wealth.

Data collated by Retirement Advantage found those aged over 55 in the Britain had property wealth which could yield £335bn via equity release.

The South East topped the chart with around £69bn of potential equity release wealth owned by the over 55s.

The Greater London region is home to £59bn, the report said.

The firm said outside of London increasing property prices were adding to the amount of equity that could be released in future, especially in areas like Yorkshire and Humberside.

Alice Watson, product and communications manager at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, said more people were looking at equity release in their retirement.

“Equity release take-up is growing rapidly but when you consider that the total lent in all of 2014 was £1.4bn, it’s clear that is merely the tip of the iceberg,” she said.

“We must remember that equity release won’t be right for all over 55s but the retirement landscape is changing beyond all previous recognition and property is increasingly being viewed as a viable source of retirement funding. With the ability to release cash from your home but stay in your property, equity release will be on the radars of ever more people in the coming years.”

Watson added that equity release was increasingly in popularity in the north of the country.

“Until recently equity release has largely been viewed as a London and South East-focused success story, due to higher than average property prices creating a large group of asset rich but cash poor retirees.

“But with house prices picking up growth across the UK and starting to outstrip London, it hints at significant opportunities for over 55s right across the country to look for new ways to access their wealth in retirement.”

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