With more than 10,000 borrowers a year reaching the end of their mortgage term on interest-only deals between now and 2020, this is likely to be behind even more equity release deals in the years to come, the firm suggests.
Elsewhere in the equity release market, More 2 life has launched a new payment process which will see advisers paid commission within seven days of a completed loan, which it claims is faster than any other lender in the market.
Slow commission payment processes elsewhere in the mortgage market have led to some advisers struggling with cash flow and prompted Mortgage Solutions to launch its Faster Lender Intermediary Payments campaign.
Rival lender OneFamily has launched a lifetime mortgage calculator, which will help advisers instantly see which lifetime mortgage deal is most suitable for their client.
Releasing wealth
According to the Key Retirement data, borrowers are on average releasing £73,610 of property wealth, jumping to as much as £117,000 in London.
Sales of equity release plans have grown by 88% in the South East and by 75% in the East Midlands, compared to 58% growth across the UK as a whole.
Despite the growing influence of interest-only repayment, home and garden improvements remain the biggest factor behind the sale of an equity release plan, accounting for three in five (62%) plans.
Dean Mirfin, technical director at Key Retirement, said: “With more than one in five releasing equity from their homes to repay mortgages as the first major wave of interest only mortgage maturities hits, it is certain that demand from people facing capital repayment deadlines will look to equity release as a solution.
“That makes it even more important for mortgage lenders to start engaging with equity release as a potential solution for their customers. Many are, but unfortunately not enough.”
