Just 7% of products fell into this bracket in January 2019, an increase of six times in just one year.

The Equity Release Council: Spring 2020 Market Report shows an increasing choice of products offering interest-serviced options, partial repayment flexibilities and downsizing protection

There are now more than 300 product options, an annual increase of 42%, which is due to strong competition combined with consumer demand. This figure has almost quadrupled in just two years from 86 in January 2018.

The number of new lifetime mortgages agreed in 2019 was 3% lower than in 2018, however, the Council said this area of activity fared better than the first-time buyer, remortgage and homemover markets, which saw activity reduce by between 5-7% year-on-year.

The second half of 2019 saw 44,234 customers opting for equity release compared with 41,263 between January and June, mirroring the seasonal pattern seen in previous years.

A total of £1.81bn was unlocked in H2 2019 to support later life planning, resulting in £3.92bn of property wealth being withdrawn in 2019 as a whole.

Almost two thirds (63%) of new customers opted for drawdown lifetime mortgage products – taking smaller amounts up-front than lump-sum products.

David Burrowes, chairman of the Equity Release Council, commented: “Hopes that the UK would leave behind the political and economic uncertainty of 2019 have been rapidly overtaken in recent weeks by the national and global response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Reflecting on 2019, the equity release market remained robust, as for a second year running older homeowners unlocked nearly £4bn of property wealth.

“While uncertainty becomes the norm, property wealth will inevitably continue to play a role over the months and years to come, to help meet the wide-ranging needs of the UK’s ageing population.

“The increasing diversity of firms in the market reflects the wide range of consumer needs which property wealth is helping to address. It is also a sign of the greater frequency with which the option of releasing equity is coming up in retirement planning conversations.”

Will Hale, CEO at equity release advisory firm Key, commented: “In these unusual and challenging times the equity release market remains open for business. Although the data from this report is predominately from before the Coronavirus pandemic hit, we have seen providers and brokers step up to the challenges and continue to serve customers.

“Lenders such as more2life had semi-automated evaluations up and running soon after the ‘lockdown’ was announced and most other lenders have now followed. This means customers have a good range of product options available to them and can progress with an equity release plan if it is appropriate for them to do so at this time .

“All advisers at Key have switched to 100% telephone based advice and we have worked with our solicitor partners and with The Equity Release Council to ensure all other elements of the process can proceed safely whilst maintaining robust protections for customers.”

Equity release product options and features

Source: Product data supplied by Key, January 2020