More than half (56%) of all housing wealth across the UK is in the hands of the over 60s. The over 75s alone control almost a quarter (23%).
The figures are in stark comparison to the under 35s, who collectively hold just 6%, says Savills.
Homes owned by those aged 60-plus are estimated to be worth a total of £2.95 trillion, according to the latest assessment of housing wealth from Savills.
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Those who own their homes outright are the UK’s largest tenure type by value. Over the last decade they have upped their share of property value as more older homeowners have become mortgage-free.
Savills reports the number of older people becoming mortgage-free in the past 10 years has grown at an “above average” rate.
Not all of the over-60s are debt-free though. They have around £60 billion of mortgage borrowing still to pay off, Savills research found. However this represents just 2% of the total value of their homes.
How much property wealth is held by other generations?
The picture is starkly different for the under-35s, who hold property worth £600 billion, but still owe around half of this (£300 billion) on their mortgages.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, says: “Over the past 10 years, debt has become a less important component of the growth in the value of the nation’s housing stock, with increasingly more equity concentrated among older homeowners and investors.
“The baby boomers have continued to build wealth, having paid off their mortgage debt, and Generation X has been working hard to achieve the same goal.
“Meanwhile, Generations Y and Z have had much less opportunity to work their way up the housing ladder profitably.”
Why aren't older homeowners downsizing?
Many older homeowners are holding on to properties that are now too big for their needs. But they are showing little willingness to move.
While boomers make up 44% of homeowners, they only made up 18.5% of homebuyers last year, Savills found – meaning just one in 57 of them moved house.
“The provision of more retirement housing, along with other incentives to make downsizing more appealing are also fundamentally important,” says Cook.
He adds: “Such measures would help unlock much-needed family housing and equity that can be used to help younger generations get on and trade up the housing ladder.”
Regionally, the highest number of baby boomers are not where the highest owner-occupier wealth is concentrated.
Baby boomers make up the highest proportion of homeowners in the South West and Wales (49%), both popular with downsizers and retirees, mainly for lifestyle reasons.
Meanwhile, over 60s make up the lowest proportion of homeowners in London (38%).
However, owner-occupier wealth is highest by value in the South East. Over 60s hold £603 billion of housing wealth in this part of the country – 21% of net housing wealth held by this age group.
This is £203 billion more than in London and £171 more than across Wales and the South West combined.
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