Housing wealth boost for equity release

The past 50 years have seen total household wealth grow nine-fold, which means that more money can be extracted via a lifetime mortgage or home reversion plan.

The figures from the Halifax show that the wealth stored in a person’s house now makes up nearly 40 per cent (38 per cent) of their total household wealth, compared to just over 20 per cent (22 per cent) in 1959.

The real boom time was in the 1980s, when housing wealth increased by over 90 per cent.

Dan Baines of Age Partnership believes this growth means that equity release could provide a great deal of financial assistance for a householder's retirement.

He says that "thanks to these increases in property values over the last few decades, many older homeowners are now sitting on a wealth of home equity that far outweighs their savings for retirement."

"With an equity release plan, over-55s can use some of this equity to improve their lifestyles."

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