According to Savills, owner-occupiers aged 60 and over account for 55% of the UK’s net housing wealth, comprising £2.92trn in main residences, £620bn in buy-to-let (BTL) investments and £290bn in other residential holdings.
In the 10 years to the end of 2025, net housing wealth in the UK has risen by 54% or £2.45trn, while mortgage debt has increased by 35% or £450m.
However, this has slowed in the last three years as house price growth moderated, with a rise of just 3.4% or £230bn since 2022.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “Housing is clearly a massive store of wealth in the UK, especially for older homeowners, who hold high proportions of both owner-occupier and BTL housing wealth.
“Much of it is concentrated in London and the South East, where owner‑occupiers aged 60-plus alone hold just over £1trn in net housing wealth.”
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He said there had been more “robust” first-time buyer transactions in the last year as mortgage regulation relaxed, but “the passing of equity between generations is still going to be a prominent feature of the housing market in coming years”.
Cook added: “Some of the pressure we are seeing on private landlords is likely to unlock some housing wealth, as older investors cash in on the gains they have made in retirement. But overcoming some of the psychological, economic and practical barriers to downsizing would potentially have a bigger overall impact on the housing market.”
Older homeowners benefit most from price growth
Savills’ research showed that older homeowners gained the most from house price growth in the last decade, as nearly half of the UK’s £7trn net housing wealth was held by unmortgaged owner-occupiers, amounting to £3.45trn.
This was 88% higher than the £1.84trn held by mortgaged owner-occupiers, who also have £1.3trn in mortgage debt, and nearly three times the £1.17trn held by private landlords.
Most housing wealth is in the South East
Regionally, over-60s account for the highest share of housing wealth in the South West and North East, at 60%.
However, older homeowners in the South East hold the highest value in housing wealth, at £602bn. This is as much as Scotland, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber combined.
Further, there are fewer older homeowners in London, but they still hold £428bn in housing wealth, bringing the total across the capital and the South East to more than £1trn.
