More than half (54%) of advisers expect a rise in enquiries about later life lending in the next 12 months driven by the launch of new products and increased confidence in the housing market, research from Key Later Life Finance has revealed.
Around a third (35%) of those expecting a rise in enquiries attributed it to the development of new later life lending products for specific customers needs, while 34% pointed to growing confidence in the housing market.
More than a quarter (27%) said house prices rises will drive increased demand over the next 12 months with 26% interviewed pointing to further Bank of England base rate reductions.
The optimism about the next 12 months builds on growth in enquiries in the past year with 59% questioned reporting an increase.
However, the research also identified high levels untapped demand providing support for the belief that the later life lending market – estimated to be worth £30bn – is not achieving its potential.
On average, advisers questioned estimated that 45% of their clients would benefit from later life lending solutions.
Almost all (93%) questioned said they have at least one client a month asking for later life lending products including half (47%) who receive enquiries at least once a week.
Will Hale, group director at Key, said: “Optimism about the later life lending market remains relatively high with the year ahead looking positive following a reasonable past 12 months.
“However, we remain a long way off the highs of 2022 and although there are signs of a recovery it continues to be a challenging period for specialist advisers and lenders.
“The real cause for optimism is that advisers are recognising that more of their clients would benefit from later life lending solutions with almost all seeing enquires at least on a monthly basis.”
He added: “The challenge is of course translating untapped demand into material market expansion so more customers can benefit from these modern later life lending products that are well-positioned to address the wants and needs of the over 50s.
“The key barrier is advisers generally focusing on their own area of expertise and not thinking more widely.
“We must continue to encourage advisers to consider all options and to put trusted referral relationships in place with other specialists in order to achieve better outcomes for customers.”
