Pensioners buck trend with equity release rise
Published Date:
19 July 2008
The amount of money pensioners unlocked from their homes rose by 14 per cent during the second quarter of the year, bucking the trend in the wider mortgage market, figures showed.
Despite falling house prices, retired people collectively released £275.7m from their properties during the three months to the end of June, up from £242.7m during the first three months of the year.
Industry body Safe Home Income Plans (Ship) said the jump may have been driven by people bringing forward plans to cash in on their home's value due to fears that property prices would fall further.
It added that pensioners' finances may also be coming under pressure from rising food and fuel prices.
But despite the quarter-on-quarter increase, the value of equity release plans taken out was still down on the record figure for the second quarter of £302.3m, reached in 2007.
Andrea Rozario, director general of Ship, said: "This success underlines the robust health of the equity release sector despite the negative effect the credit crunch is having on the mainstream mortgage market.
"It also serves to highlight the distinctly different forces that drive the equity release market relative to the mainstream market."
The full article contains 208 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
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Last Updated:
19 July 2008 8:02 AM
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Source:
n/a
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Location:
Yorkshire
