The equity release market grew 11% in 2025, the Equity Release Council reveals.

The ERC’s Q4 report showed that total annual lending increased from £2.3bn in 2024, to £2.57bn in 2025.

More than a quarter (26%) of advisers responding to the council’s latest survey say customers are now using equity release to clear mortgages balances.

Meanwhile 40% say equity release is being put towards positive uses such as paying for home improvements (21%), holidays (6%), other large purchases such as a car (4%) or gifting to the family (13%).

The report also reveals that the sector has continued to grow, with £632m worth of total lending, a 1.6% increase compared to Q4 2024 when it stood at £622m.

The average release rose to £123,174 in Q4 2025, an increase of 5.7% year-on-year.

And 1,468 customers returned for further advances this quarter, compared to 1,411 in Q4 2024.

Looking ahead, the report found that four in every five of the advisers polled by the council forecast more lending in 2026 than in 2025 and only 2% forecast a fall.

A similar number suggested they would see overall customer numbers grow in 2026.

ERC chief executive Jim Boyd says: “Growth of 11% underlines the increasingly important role housing wealth is playing in supporting financial resilience and choice in later life. It reflects something far bigger than short-term market movements – equity release is proving vital to meeting people’s social and economic needs.”

“Modern products are more flexible and secure than ever and, for many homeowners, accessing housing wealth is now a core part of their retirement planning, helping them enjoy financial freedom and a better quality of life. Releasing property wealth now supports around £1 in every £90 spent by retired households.”

ERC chair David Burrowes adds: “Increasingly, releasing equity is part of homeowners’ retirement plans. Almost four in every ten future retirees (38 per cent) are on track for a retirement income below the Pensions UK ‘minimum standard’.”

“Demographic and economic pressures mean the demand is there and likely to grow. Innovations in product design are making modern equity release more flexible and more secure, making it more attractive to consumers.”

“The Council also sees sustained long-term growth being supported by increased collaboration across the later life lending sector and regulatory engagement. In Q1 of 2026, the Financial Conduct Authority launches a focused later life lending market study, examining how mortgages and property-based solutions can better support consumers borrowing into retirement.

“This is an important step which reflects the reality that borrowing in later life is becoming more common and that the market must continue to evolve to deliver good consumer outcomes.”

“That regulatory focus, combined with collaboration and continued product innovation, gives us confidence in the sector’s long-term direction. We have never had a better opportunity to bridge the retirement later life funding gap.”

Equity Release Group founder and chief executive Mark Gregory explains: “The Equity Release Council’s latest figures reflect what we’ve also been seeing on the ground for a while now and that is that demand in this market isn’t fading but evolving.”

“In 2025, Equity Release Supermarket delivered a 16% uplift in completed cases year on year, showcasing that demand is being driven by structural change rather than short-term market conditions, hence there is a real underlying need for equity release.”

“More people today are reaching later life still carrying mortgage debt, often on fixed or reduced incomes, and trying to make their money last longer.”

“When you combine that with longer life expectancy and the slow demise of defined benefit pensions, it’s no surprise that homeowners are starting to look at their property wealth alongside pensions and savings, not instead of them.”

“However, growth alone is not the only story here. What’s evolved the most is how people want to access advice. Growth hasn’t come from pushing a single product or relying on one route to market. It’s come from giving people more choice in how they engage, the personalisation, the choice and supporting that with best-in-class advice and clear consumer duty safeguards.”