While the most housing wealth per home is still available in Greater London and the South, the rest of the country is catching up fast, with East Anglia, the West Midlands and Scotland all actually seeing faster growth in housing wealth than the South East.
The South East topped the list regionally, with a total of £72bn potentially available to over 55s, followed by £62bn in Greater London. London has seen the fastest annual growth in property values to the end of Q2 2015 with values up 17.80%, followed by East Anglia which was up 16.30%.
According to the Halifax House Price Index, Q2 2015 saw house price growth of 10.70% in East Anglia and 8.50% in Scotland, leaving London in third place with 5.60% quarterly growth. Growth in London was also third placed during Q1, with Yorkshire & The Humber (5.20%) and South West (4.20%), outpacing the Capital’s 3.80%.
Alice Watson, product and communications manager at Retirement Advantage Equity Release, commented:
“The housing landscape is evolving and providing income opportunities for a new generation of people adopting a more holistic approach to their retirement. With rapid growth in housing wealth across the country, we expect to see the traditional South East and London-focused success of equity release spreading into the Midlands and East Anglia, as well as continuing north of the border in Scotland. As property values continue to increase, we expect equity release to become an even more attractive option to over 55s right across the country as they plan how to best use their wealth in retirement.
“It’s clear that the current size of the market – despite being on course for a record-breaking year in 2015 – is just the beginning. If the rest of the UK continues to match or overtake property value growth in the South, we can expect appetite for equity release to increase. At Retirement Advantage we already see a lot of customers in areas like East Anglia and Scotland, and these figures suggest those markets will only grow in the coming months and years. The market is evolving and our view of it should evolve too.”
