UK industry group the Equity Release Council has published its quarterly update for Q2 2024. Total lending in the market was up +15% on the first quarter, with a +12% rise in new customers observed as well.
That double-digit rise in the number of customers taking out new products made Q2 2024 the busiest quarter for almost a year for the equity release market in terms of total customers served and total lending activity.
In addition, existing drawdown customers, who are allocated a cash reserve when they first take equity release, continued to make use of this facility.
A +3% increase to 8,051 returning drawdown customers during Q2 made this the most resilient part of the market when comparing activity year-on-year.
Increases in average loan sizes on both a quarterly and annual basis offer another sign of returning customer confidence. New drawdown customers are making larger initial withdrawals and reducing the amount held in reserve.
“Following a period of economic uncertainty, we are starting to see consumer confidence gradually return to the market with increasing numbers of new customers choosing to use their housing equity to support their needs in later life,” said David Burrowes, Chair of the Equity Release Council.
“The pick-up in activity between the first and second quarters is a welcome reversal of the downward trend seen one year ago. There is a long way to go to unlock the market’s full potential, but there are reassuring signs in these figures that we are turning the corner and acclimatising to this unfamiliar interest-rate environment after years of rock-bottom rates.”