Over 55s are sitting on net property wealth of £4.4 trillion, turbo-charged by a pandemic windfall that added almost £1bn a day to their house prices between March 2020 and June 2022, estimates Just Group.

The retirement financial services specialist points to Office for National Statistics data that shows that over 55s owned more than £3.5 trillion of housing equity in March 2020, accounting for 65% of the UK’s total housing wealth.

Since the start of the pandemic, average property prices have jumped by 23.1%, according to Land Registry House Price Index figures in June.

The financial services firm says: “This has largely been driven by pent-up demand from the first lockdown, the race-for-space as people hunted for properties outside major cities and the stamp duty cut that further stimulated the market.”

It adds that over 55s may now be sitting on net property wealth of £4.4 trillion, with the health crisis inflating the value of their homes by £815bn, “equivalent to nearly £1bn of added value every single day between March 2020 and June 2022”.

Just Group group communications director Stephen Lowe says: “Given over 55s hold the majority of net housing wealth in the UK, it is unsurprising that they will have reaped the biggest rewards from the growth in the market.

“But as we enter a new economic cycle, this vast storage tank of wealth they have accumulated will inevitably play an important role in their future finances.

“With inheritance tax thresholds frozen until 2026, rising house prices will likely tip more estates into paying inheritance tax. Using property wealth to make living inheritances could provide homeowners with a means of mitigating the impact of inheritance tax as well as providing loved ones with financial support.”