UK Equity Rises as House Prices Improve Again
Homeowners considering an equity release scheme will be boosted by the news that house prices have increased for the fifth consecutive month, making them almost identical to the average price in September 2008. This comes after the Nationwide released their latest figures pertaining to the housing market.
They recorded a 0.9% rise against August but more encouragingly the results identified a three month accumulative increase of 3.8% compared with the average of the previous three months. This is the largest rise of this measure since August 2004.
More Value for Equity Release
As a result of this encouraging increase, homeowners seeking funds for their lifestyle or retirement could now unlock more equity.
An equity release plan is an ideal way to unlock a large lump sum or regular payments to help support homeowners’ income. There are many other reasons to unlock an equity release plan including paying debt, helping out children or home improvements and this rise in house prices could encourage more people to look at this option.
Especially considering £7billion was added to UK housing equity between April and June, taking the total equity increase from the summer of 2008 to £29billion.
Property Equity Far Outweighs Savings
Nationwide’s chief economist, Martin Gahbauer, commented, “The most intense phase of the recession and financial crisis has probably passed.”
“All regions saw an increase in prices between the second quarter and third quarter. For the UK as a whole, prices rose by 3.7% in the third quarter, leading to an increase in the annual rate of change from -11.7% in the second quarter to -3.0%.”
Dan Baines, Marketing Director of Age Partnership, independent equity release specialists, added, “This is good news for people who are considering equity release. Most over 55 homeowners are sitting in a property whose value far outweighs their levels of savings; and, with a couple of equity release plan providers having recently increased the proportion of equity that customer can release, more people may now be able to benefit.”
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