The sector is facing a slowdown, according to Bank of England figures.
Britons are turning away from equity release loans - and trying to pay off their mortgages instead.
A new report from the Bank of England has revealed that the amount of money "unlocked" from property between April and June stands at -£2.76 billion - the first negative number measured on the survey since 1998. This means that more equity was added to property than withdrawn from it over the three-month period.
The increase of equity is also the largest since the Bank began taking records thirty-eight years ago, the Press Association reports.
This newly-conservative attitude among homeowners can be attributed to the recent decline of the UK property market. Figures from Nationwide, released earlier this week, showed that house prices have dropped for the past eleven months in a row - and now stand around 12 percent below the peak of the market last year.
Lenders have also markedly tightened their criteria for borrowers applying for credit - including equity release products - due to the crisis, which has worsened over recent weeks with the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley and the takeover of HBOS.
Property equity withdrawals over the first quarter stood at £5.24 billion from January to March 2008.
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