Older homeowners released more than £1 billion in property wealth in the first three months of 2021 – the equivalent of more than £11.3 million a day, said Key.

The equity release adviser said that the average customer unlocked £103,710 in equity from their home – a massive 25% increase over the £83,242 released in the first quarter of 2020.

Despite this rise, the number of equity release plan sales fell by 9.5% to 10,341 from 11,423 in the same period.

The average price of a house used for equity release also rose 12% to £366,660 from £326,486 last year.

What is the money used for?

Around three-quarters of the money released by homeowners was spent on clearing mortgages (34%) and unsecured debts (26%). One in five gifted money to help their family.

Unsurprisingly, the amount spent on holidays fell to just 1%.

Will Hale, CEO at Key, said: “The strength of the property market driven by the extension of the Stamp Duty Holiday and the launch of Government guarantees for over 95% LTV mortgages is helping to increase the property wealth that over-55s can use for retirement planning.

“However, the equity release market is building its own momentum and demonstrating continued resilience as client look to it for support with debt management and gifting.”