More equity available from homes

People selling their homes are asking for money, which is positive news for the equity release market.

New figures from property website Rightmove.co.uk show that people are asking for 5 per cent more for their houses this month, compared to a year ago.

This is on top of a 4.3 per cent year-on-year rise in May.

Whilst asking prices themselves don’t alter the amount that can be extracted through equity release, they are backed up by increased home value in May.

According to Assetz, the average house price in May rose nearly 8 per cent (7.8 per cent) compared to the same month in 2009.

The average figure now stands at more than £200,000 (£200,347).

This means that people taking out a lifetime mortgage or a drawdown lifetime mortgage can extract more cash than they could a year ago.

The views expressed in these videos are those of ReelContent alone. They may not represent the views or opinions of Age Partnership or its staff. RealContent acts in a journalistic capacity and is not authorised to give advice under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The information contained in this video is intended for information and interest only, and not to either provide advice to, or to address the particular requirements of any individual.