Restoring equity release to its former glory

The equity release market has undergone difficult times over the past two years. Despite a concerted campaign from industry body SHIP to raise awareness of this sector total advances have fallen from £303.3 million in Q3 2008 to £213.4 million in Q1 2010. The reasons for such a drop in business are numerous. House price volatility has made many consumers delay their decision to take out an equity release product. Several key providers have also pulled out of the market over the last year. It was a move first started by Prudential who announced they were exiting the market in November 2009. ...