Canada Life has calculated that over £740 billion of equity was available for release in UK homes in Q3 2021, the first time it has exceeded this milestone. This is an increase of over £10 billion when compared to the previous quarter.

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 £740.5 billion.

The average price of a property in the South East is now £360k, creating £143bn of potential equity for the region, the largest available equity by region in the UK. This was closely followed by London which now has £136bn of potential equity. Property prices in Scotland, the East Midlands and East Anglia saw the largest growth in Q3, growing by 2.8%, 2.4% and 2.2% respectively.

Scotland now has over £45bn of potential equity available, or almost £66k per household. In the East Midlands there is now over £46bn available, equating to over £76k per household and in East Anglia almost £85bn of available equity leads to £108k available to release per household.

House prices in the North West saw no change after increasing by 3.4% the previous quarter, while London actually saw a small decline of -0.1% bringing the average house price down by just over £500k to £510.5k.

Despite this, London still enjoys the highest levels of average equity available at £178,680 per household. London is followed by the South East (£126,278) and East Anglia (£108,732).

Homeowners in the North East, and Yorkshire had the least amount of equity available, with £54,489 and £65,385 per household respectively.

Alice Watson, head of marketing, insurance, Canada Life, said: “With the exception of a very minor decline in London, house prices are continuing their almost relentless growth across Britain which we can see mirrored in the available equity. As a result, households across the nation are looking at property wealth in a different way. To see them as a contributing part of their retirement income rather than a completely separate asset.

“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.”