Baby Boomers hold more than half of the UK’s housing wealth

Older homeowners in the UK, aged 60 and above, hold more than half of the nation’s owner-occupied housing wealth, totalling an estimated £2.89 trillion.

Based on estimates from property firm Savills, this generation’s significant share, representing 56 per cent of total housing wealth, contrasts sharply with younger homeowners. Those under 35, for example, hold just 6 per cent of the housing wealth pie.

The concentration of property wealth among older generations is further highlighted by the fact that over-75s account for nearly a quarter (23 per cent) of the total.

While the over-60s demographic holds substantial wealth, they are not entirely mortgage-free. Savills estimates that they still have around £60bn in outstanding mortgage borrowing, equivalent to 2 per cent of their total home value.

Regional variations also exist in the distribution of older homeowners.

Savills notes higher concentrations of over-60s homeowners in the South West and Wales, compared to relatively lower numbers in London.

Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said: “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.”

Mr Cook said the provision of more retirement housing and other incentives to make downsizing more appealing are “fundamentally important”.

He added: “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.”

Savills used various research sources, including figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Census data and the English Housing Survey.

Here are Savills’ calculations showing its estimates of over-60s’ net owner-occupier housing wealth across the UK: