Equity available in British homes reaches a new high of £730bn

• All GB regions see growth as equity available surges by £79.1 billion since Q1 2021
• Homeowners in London have the largest amount of equity available to release per household
• Yorkshire and the Humber sees largest house price growth of almost 4%

Almost £730 billion of equity was available for release in British homes in Q2 2021, the first time it has exceeded this milestone. This is an increase of almost £80 billion when compared to the previous quarter, according to analysis by Canada Life. The figures, based on the latest Halifax quarterly regional house price index, reveal that the total amount of housing equity available to homeowners aged over 55 now stands at an estimated £729.8 billion¹.

The average price of a property in the South East is now £353k, creating £140bn of potential equity for the region, the largest available equity by region in Britain. This was closely followed by London which now has £136bn of potential equity. Property prices in Yorkshire, the South West and the North West also grew significantly in Q1, growing by 3.9%, 3.7% and 3.4% respectively. Yorkshire now has over £43bn of potential equity available, or just under £65k per household. This jumps to just under £73bn for the South West, or just over £94k per household. In the North West there is just under £63bn available, or £70k per household.

Scotland and London saw the smallest growth of 1.2% and 1.4% respectively. Despite this, London still enjoys the highest levels of average equity available at £161,276 per household. London is followed by the South East (£110,686) and East Anglia (£94,933).

Homeowners in the North East and Yorkshire had the least amount of equity available, with £53,546 and £64,830 per household respectively. This could be attributed to higher levels of home ownership in the regions.

An increase in loan to values (LTVs) across Canada Life’s product range can be partly attributed to the rise in the amount of equity available.

Alice Watson, Head of Marketing, Insurance, Canada Life said: “House prices have risen dramatically over the last year which has naturally led to more equity being available across the country. As a result, property wealth is increasingly being used as another element of retirement income, alongside existing savings.

“The diverse nature of equity release products mean that they can be used to meet a range of evolving needs. Whilst releasing equity from a property remains a very significant and individual decision it has a valuable role to play in helping today’s homeowners live the retirement they’ve worked long and hard for. With the right advice, equity release has proven it can help people to access their property wealth flexibly and safely.”

Full regional breakdown of available equity:

1. Source: Property values listed are based on Halifax’s quarterly house price index. The potential equity release value has been calculated using the maximum loan to value (as of August 2021) for a 70 year old for Canada Life’s Capital Select Super Lite product based on the average regional house price and ONS population statistics. This has then been weighted based on the English Housing Survey’s property ownership figures for those aged 55 or over - this was then applied to each region to calculate the proportion of properties owned by those aged 55 or over.
2. Numbers have been rounded - please ask for a full breakdown