London over 65s are property millionaires

August 14, 2016 by Brendan O'Neill

Home owners

Over 50,000 people aged 65 and above in London own a property which is worth more than £1 million. Between them, this amounts to nearly £130 billion.

Research conducted by CACI, a data management company, shows that just two boroughs in London don’t have pensioners with homes worth £1 million or above. Nearly £70 billion of the combined wealth is concentrated on 13 square miles, across two boroughs in West London. While these pensioners are benefiting from the rapidly increasing property values, young people in London are having to rent properties before they can buy, spending tens of thousands.

A large number of the older home owners will have purchased their homes years earlier when the values were still relatively low. Higher inflation also meant higher wages which made their mortgages more affordable.

Kensington and Chelsea has a population of around 160,000 and more than 10,000 are aged 65 or over, with a property worth £1 million or more. Westminster is the second most affluent area, with 7,152 people aged 65 or over having a property worth £1 million plus.

The data highlights the difference between young and older borrowers, with the Telegraph Money recently revealing that 20% fewer people aged 45 or below own their own home than in 2004. The only two boroughs without any property millionaires were Barking and Dagenham and Newham.

Mortgage advisers are CeMAP qualified and are able to advise all borrowers, young or old, of the most suitable mortgage for a borrower’s circumstances.