Investment - Articles - Comment on Equity Release lending figures

 "After a lull in the early months of the year, the equity release market has resumed its recent growth trend with record sales of £384.3 million in the second quarter. Going forward there is every reason to expect a continued increase in demand as growing numbers of people tune into the important role that housing assets can play in providing retirement income and meeting a range of needs in later life.

 "The strong growth is across both lump sum and drawdown equity release solutions, highlighting two continuing themes that are likely to persist for some time to come. The first is the increasing number of those heading into retirement and needing lump sums to pay off loans, in particular on interest-only mortgage debt. The second is the demand from those facing an income squeeze who see drawdown as a way to generate regular lumps of cash to support their quality of life.

 "These are early days but it will be interesting to see whether there is any impact from April's pensions reforms on the equity release market. Generating income remains the priority for most retirees and taking pension cash to use in the short term has to be balanced by maintaining sufficient assets to continue generating income for the long term so it is likely pension freedom will complement further growth in equity release sales, particularly as retirees start to take a more rounded view of their assets rather than thinking of pensions and housing assets as distinct from each other."