Council publishes Q2 Lending figures 2025
Equity Release Market Records 10% Year-on-Year Growth Driven by New Customer Borrowing
| Overall activity – Q2 2025 | Quarterly change | Annual change | |
| Total lending | £636m | -4% | +10% |
| Total plans | 14,404 | 0% | +1% |
| New plans | 5,319 | 0% | +2% |
| Returning drawdowns | 7,640 | -1% | -5% |
| Further advances | 1,445 | +9% | +40% |
Older homeowners unlocked £636 million in property wealth with 14,404 new and returning customers in Q2 2025, as the equity release market continued its year-on-year growth, according to the Equity Release Council’s latest quarterly market report.
This is a 10% increase in total lending when compared to Q2 2024 (£578m) and was driven by new lump sum mortgage customers taking on average £126,422 or 14% more than in Q2 2024 (£110,969).
That said, the figures did highlight a 4% quarter on quarter drop in lending as borrowing in this sector mirrored challenges seen in the residential mortgage market due to ongoing economic uncertainty, changes to Stamp Duty and the later Easter holidays.
The number of plans taken out remained static quarter on quarter, but there was a slight increase in the volume of new plans (+2%) and total plans (+1%), when compared to 2024.
Further advances – which make up less than 7% of the total amount borrowed – saw a 40% year on year increase in plans as existing customers chose to take advantage of house price increases and additional product flexibilities to borrow more.
The relative importance of flexibility was highlighted further with 55% of customers in Q2 2025 deciding on drawdown products which allow homeowners to release an initial amount (Q2 2025 – £65,856) and agree a reserve facility (Q2 2025 – av. £53,338) for future use.
While product availability remained robust with over 1,669 plans for advisers to choose from at the end of June, the average APR was 7.24% in Q2 2025. This is higher than in Q2 2024 (6.64%) as gilt yields continued to rise as investors look for guaranteed returns amid global economic uncertainty.
