Responsible Life has reported a 52% annual surge in lifetime mortgages sales, with retirees increasingly looking to equity release as part of their financial planning.

The later life lending specialist advised on £41m of lifetime mortgages in August, a figure up 51.9% from the £27m recorded in August 2019.

When drawdown facilities are included, the broker revealed that the amount of lifetime mortgage business advised on by the company has increased from £38m in August last year, to £50m last month.

The broker suggested that the lifetime mortgage market has skipped the traditional summer slowdown thanks to a strong rebound in house prices and a desire to move onto more predictable, long-term financial arrangements.

Responsible Life executive chairman, Steve Wilkie, commented: “The popularity of lifetime mortgages exploded last month thanks to a combination of low rates, robust property valuations in light of the stamp duty holiday and a desire among customers to secure their long-term financial arrangements following lockdown.

“The sector is certainly riding high and it will be interesting to see to what extent such strong annual growth rates can be sustained into the Christmas period.

“Funding for equity release products is liquid so the market has been able to satisfy this extra demand, while funding sources for other types of product have been more difficult to access, leading to a tightening in criteria. Equity release rates remain low and rate competition is still fierce. This will continue to draw new customers into the sector.”

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