New research from Key Retirement Solutions reveals that retired homeowners have total property wealth owned outright of £752.72 billion.

However, the Pensioner Property Equity Index found that a growing regional divide is emerging with pensioners in Scotland, Wales and the South West suffering major falls.

Meanwhile, over-65 homeowners in the North West, the East, the West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humberside have been seeing increases.

Across the country homeowners aged 65-plus lost a total of £3.64 billion in the past three months – equivalent to around £787 each – as housing market volatility continued,.

But the national figure masked major differences across the country with the average over-65 homeowner in Scotland losing £6,399 in the past three months while in Wales they were £2,062 worse off and £2,063 down in the South West.

Over-65 homeowners in London suffered a £1,210 drop but have still seen average gains of around £20,000 in the past year.

The biggest winners were pensioners in the West Midlands who gained £980 in the three months while over-65s in the East of England were £636 ahead. In Yorkshire & Humberside property equity increased £421 and it rose £495 in the North West.

Key Retirement’s figures show 34% of pensioner property equity is owned by over-65s in London and the South East – in London over-65s own property without any mortgages worth £132.27 billion while in the South East pensioners own £123.927 billion of property without mortgages.

Dean Mirfin, group director at Key Retirement Solutions, said: “The housing market remains volatile with areas such as Scotland, the South West and Wales seeing major swings. Even London has seen a drop after racing ahead throughout most of 2012.

“However there are still bright spots with four regions seeing gains and the essential fact remains that pensioners are literally sitting on a major asset.

“Whatever the trend in the housing market, even for those regions experiencing falls, over-65s own considerable property wealth which represents a massive investment success as they no longer have mortgages on homes they may have bought more than 25 years ago.

“The equity release market is seeing strong growth in the number of plans sold and the money released as more pensioners opt for drawdown products. They enable customers to benefit from lower borrowing costs today, allowing for increased flexibility to access further funds over time as and when required.”