The equity release market is now growing at 24% a year, with 12,000 new homeowners accessing this form of finance since July: 6% more than in the previous three months.
British homeowners aren’t losing their shirts. The amounts of property wealth being accessed are relatively modest: the average new lump sum lifetime mortgage plan has actually dropped 5% per person to just over £91,000, while the average first instalment from a drawdown plan is just over £65,000.
But more customers are also coming back for a second bite, with returning drawdown customers accessing an average £11,400.
What are they spending it on? Everything from home improvements and adaptations to paying for social care or giving financial help to younger people in the family.
“The equity release market is making an increasingly important contribution to the later life landscape,” says David Burrowes, chair of the Equity Release Council.
“Older homeowners are discovering in growing numbers that that property wealth can play a key role in funding a myriad of needs.
“Government, regulators and industry must continue to help people take a more rounded approach to later life financial planning. No one solution suits every individual need.”
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