Retired homeowners still have equity in their homes

Despite falling house prices, homeowners aged 65 and over still have £726.43 billion of equity in their homes, according to research from Prudential's Equity Release Index.

The Index, which tracks the amount of equity held in the properties of people aged 65 and over in England and Wales, found that over 40 per cent of equity belongs to those living in London and the South East.

Prudential's Index reveals that the value of property equity belonging to homeowners aged 65 and over fell by £7.7 billion between February 2008 and May 2008. However, this decline in value is very recent because between June 2007 and May 2008, the figure increased by £12.731 billion.

Between February 2008 and May 2008, London is the only region in England and Wales that actually saw an increase in property equity values. The average homeowner aged over 65 in the South West saw the value of equity they have in their home fall by £6,117, the highest decline for any part of the UK. This was followed by £2,964 in the North East and £2,645 in the South East. Homeowners in London saw the equity in their homes increase by an average of £954.

Keith Haggart, Director of Lifetime Mortgages, at Prudential said: "Although most retired homeowners have seen the value of equity in their homes fall in recent months, it's important that they don't lose sight of the bigger picture which is that despite current falling property prices, in the vast majority of cases retired homeowners have built up a significant amount of equity in their homes over a number of years.

"This, together with the rising cost of living means that many more people are now looking to release equity from their homes to maintain or improve their standard of living in retirement. Equity release schemes can be an excellent way to help do this, and any provider who is SHIP registered provides a no-negative equity guarantee as well as guaranteeing that the mortgage interest rate is fixed for the term of the loan."

Prudential reported a strong first half performance for its lifetime mortgage business, and believes its sales during this period made it a market leader in lifetime mortgages. Prudential's total new business equity release mortgage advances in the first half of 2008 were £117 million, the highest half year sales since Prudential entered the market in 2005 and up 75 per cent on the first half of last year.