The Council has published its latest market data for Q4 and FY 2021.

To download the report in full click here.

• Record amounts of property wealth were accessed via equity release products in Q4 and across 2021 by more than 76,000 new and returning customers, according to the Equity Release Council.
• Its figures show the sector has not only maintained its resilience throughout the uncertainty of the pandemic but has now returned to growth for the first time since 2018.
• Total lending to homeowners aged 55+ via lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans grew by 24% year-on-year, compared with 31% lending growth across the wider mortgage market.
• Average loan sizes also increased, partly influenced by rising property prices and an increase in wealthier customers using equity release as part of their financial planning.

David Burrowes, Chairman of the Equity Release Council, said: “Cost of living pressures are just one of many reasons why homeowners are choosing to cash in on years of wealth accumulated in their homes. Increasing loan sizes partly reflect the rise in house prices and a more affluent type of customer using lifetime mortgages to plan their finances or gift a living legacy to family members.

“Having proved itself to have solid foundations through a period of uncertainty, the equity release market’s return to growth has just as much to do with trust and innovation as it does with external factors as households look to manage their finances in later life.

“Equity release products have continued to evolve in recent years with new providers and features adding to their appeal. Increasingly flexibility has brought lifetime mortgages closer to their residential equivalents, by offering capital or interest payment options alongside long-term, time-honoured protections against rising interest rates and negative equity”.