Homeowners over the age of 65 made nearly £17,000 on their houses in the last year, despite the recent market uncertainty, Key Later Life Finance has found.

New research by the equity release adviser revealed that total property wealth owned outright by over-65s has risen by £167bn – an average of £16,658 for each homeowner who has paid off their mortgage in the last 12 months.

This means their property wealth has increased by almost £1,400 per month since January 2022.

Total property wealth for the age group now stands at £3.02trn and has resulted in benefits for homeowners across Great Britain. The biggest increase was in London, with individual gains of £23,974.

The biggest collective gains were in the South East (£30.2bn) and the South West (£23.2bn). Scotland saw the smallest individual gains at £2,230.

Key says the overall £16,658 gain in housing wealth equates to just over 32 weeks’ income for the average pensioner couple (£515 per week), or a year plus 17 weeks for a single pensioner (£239 per week).

Key Later Life Finance chief executive Will Hale comments: “While there is no doubt that we have started to see prices falling in 2023, the gains homeowners saw in early 2022 still mean they are over £16,000 better off than in January last year.

“A strong housing market is important for the economy, and we are starting to see some green shoots with mortgage approvals rising but that said, inflation rather than house prices are likely to be older homeowners’ biggest source of concern.

“Retirees spending patterns mean that they use a disproportionate amount of their often fixed income to cover utilities, groceries and other basics so the 9.2% rate of income hits them particularly hard.  While the recent state pension increases will no doubt be welcome, more older people than ever are having to make hard choices around their finances.

“Accessing the £3.02 trillion worth of equity tied up in their homes can help with both short-term and longer-term needs.”