Later life mortgage lending rises 13.4% to 37,300 new loans in Q2 as older borrowers take on £6.2bn

UK Finance recorded 37,300 new later life mortgages in the second quarter of 2026, up 13.4% on the same quarter last year, with the value of that lending up 20.5% to £6.2bn. Lenders have widened criteria for borrowers over 50 at the same time as higher rates and deposit pressure push more households to borrow later in life. For buyers that widens who can realistically move; for sellers it adds a pool of downsizers to the demand side. Volumes are still small set against the wider mortgage market.