The amount of equity that lifetime mortgage customers have released has leapt by 31% in a year driven by a “middle-class stampede,” according to data from Responsible Life.
The later life mortgage broker says the average amount released by its customers over the last 12 months jumped from £86,000 to £112,700 in April.
It says: “The cause of the shift is the increasing popularity of lifetime mortgages among wealthier homeowners who have ‘cottoned on’ to the historically low interest rates and the boost in living standards that equity release can provide. Rates on lifetime mortgages have more than halved in recent years to below 3% in many cases.”
The broker adds: “This shift to a wealthier audience is borne out by a simultaneous increase in the average value of the properties that are being presented for underwriting.”
The average value of homes being used to secure lifetime mortgages, it says, is 19.4% higher than a year ago, at £487,000 — which is nearly double the average UK house price of £256,405.
House prices have gained over the same period — rising…
