61% of UK homeowners are looking at equity release

The Equity Release Council has revealed that three in five (61%) UK homeowners are interested in releasing money from their property later in life for various financial needs – that is equivalent to 18.7 million people.

This figure has increased by 4% since 2021 according to the Council‘s Home Advantage study of 5,000 UK adults’ financial attitudes and experiences. The study also showed that two in five people believe it is becoming more common and acceptable to have a mortgage later on in life – this has increased from 34% since 2021.

The age at which homeowners can apply for equity release is 55. The main reasons for releasing money from their homes from those asked were as follows:

• The wish to pay for care at a home (17%)
• To give their retirement income a boost (17%)
• To pay for travel plans

The other reason that scored highly was to be able to financially support the wellbeing of younger family members, with one in seven people wanting to gift money released from their property to a family member to assist with a deposit towards their first home.

As specialists in later-life lending, we at Mortgage Required believe all options for releasing equity should be looked into. We can work with you to decide whether equity release is the right route for you. Give our friendly team a call at 01628 507477.

Source: Equity Release Council | May 2024.