Equity release firm woos downsizers with claims of record high wealth

An equity release provider says there is now £382 billion worth of equity available within older homeowners’ properties following recent house price rises. 

The figures, produced by Canada Life and based on UK property homeownership numbers and the latest Nationwide house price index, reveal that the amount of equity available to homeowners aged over-55 now stands at £382 billion.

This is an increase of £2.5 billion compared to July 2018.

Canada Life says the equity release market has steadily been growing since 2011, with a 23 per cent uptick from 2017 to 2018 reported by the Equity Release Council in its 2019 Spring Statement.

Alice Watson, head of marketing and communications at Canada Life Home Finance, says: “At the beginning of this year, we reported that nearly one in five financial advisers believed house prices would rise by up to five per cent in 2019 – despite a less positive outlook from other commentators – and this has been proved right across many areas in the UK. 

“While this isn’t the case for every region, the overall rise in house prices is great news for homeowners, whose largest asset is usually their property. Customer demand for equity release has increased significantly across the UK over the last year, and we expect this trend to continue over the next 12 months, especially as the recent rise in house prices means that more equity is now available to over-55s.”