Older homeowners unlocked £636 million in property wealth in Q2 2025, a 10 per cent increase from £578 million in Q2 2024, according to the Equity Release Council.
The rise was driven by new lump sum borrowers, who took out an average of £126,422, up 14 per cent from last year.
However, borrowing dropped 4 per cent compared to the previous quarter. Meanwhile, the number of plans stayed steady, with small increases compared to last year.
More existing customers also borrowed extra, with top-up loans rising 40 per cent. Many choose drawdown plans, which let them take money out gradually. These plans had an average first payment of £65,856 and a reserve of £53,338.
There were 1,669 equity release products available, but interest rates rose from 6.64 per cent to 7.24 per cent over the year because of global financial pressures.
Equity Release Council chair David Burrowes says: “Today’s figures show a resilient equity release sector which despite challenging economic headwinds, has recorded 10 per cent year on year growth in borrowing with the total amount released in Q2 2025 reaching £636m. Growth which continues to be driven by new borrowers accessing greater amounts of housing equity to manage debt, boost income and support their wider families.
“While the equity release market face some of the same challenges seen in the residential mortgage market, new lump sum and drawdown loans are up as customers take advantage of stable long-term house price growth to support their later life finances. An approach which is only likely to grow in the future with Fairer Finance predicting that by 2040, over half of UK households (51 per cent) are expected to require housing wealth to support their spending needs in later life and retirement.
“The Later life lending market will inevitably grow as more customers look to their housing wealth to boost retirement income and meet care needs. We need to be ready and resilient to build upon strong advice standards, product innovation and a commitment to support a wider range of customers as this provides significant opportunities for the market.
“We look forward to making the most of the opportunity presented by the recently launched FCA discussion paper into the ‘Future of the Mortgage Market’ which recognises the significant role of housing wealth in paying for retirement and that flexible lifetime mortgage products for older consumers are becoming ‘increasingly mainstream’.”
