Editor's note: This brief was summarised by The Property AI Newsroom from a report by Mortgage Strategy. Read the original article for full details.
Home Improvements Lead Equity Release Motivations in 2026
Home improvements continue to be the main reason homeowners take out lifetime mortgages, according to new data from Canada Life. The analysis, covering the first half of 2026, found that 43% of applicants cited home adaptations and improvements as their primary motivation for releasing equity, making it the most common use of lifetime mortgages.
The data also shows a growing number of customers are using equity release to improve their financial resilience. In the first half of 2026, 30% of applicants used equity release to repay an existing mortgage, up from 27% across the whole of 2025. This trend increased during the year, rising from 27% in the first quarter to 32% in the second quarter. However, this remains below the level seen five years ago, when 46% of customers used equity release to clear an existing mortgage.
Family gifting remains an important reason for releasing equity, though demand has eased from last year. In the first half of 2026, 15% of applicants released equity to gift money to family members, down from 19% in 2025. Despite this decline, gifting is still more common than in previous years, accounting for 11% of applications in 2022 and 10% in 2023.
Customers are also becoming less likely to use equity release for discretionary spending. The proportion of applicants using funds for holidays fell to 21% in the first half of 2026, compared with 26% in 2025. Other non-essential uses, such as buying cars and purchasing additional properties, also declined over the same period.
These findings highlight a shift in priorities among homeowners, with more focus on essential financial needs over lifestyle spending. This trend may be relevant for UK letting agents and inventory clerks, as increased home improvements could impact property standards and maintenance requirements in the sector.
Source: Mortgage Strategy