The value of new second charge business completed reached £142m in May, the highest total since October 2022, association figures showed.
According to data from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), this was 18% higher than the same month a year ago.
Compared to the previous month, this was a rise on the £138m value of new second charge mortgage business recorded in April.
In the three months to May, the value of new business amounted to £417m, a 22% jump annually.
The value of new second charge business reached £1.49bn in the 12 months to May 2024, which was a 1% decline on the previous year.
Fiona Hoyle (pictured), director of consumer and mortgage finance and inclusion at the FLA, said: “May saw the second charge mortgage market report its highest level of new business by value since October 2022. The market has reported a sustained period of growth, leading to new business growth of 20% by value and 14% by volume in the first five months of 2024.”
Second charge agreements
There were 2,957 second charge mortgages agreed in May, a 12% increase on the same month in 2023.
On a monthly basis, this was down by just 10 agreements on the 2,967 in April.
Over the three months to May, there was a 16% rise on the number of second charge mortgages agreed to reach 8,818. In the year to May, this totalled 32,183, which was a 1% decline annually.
Hoyle said: “The distribution of new business by purpose of loan in May 2024 showed that the proportion of new agreements [that] were for the consolidation of existing loans was 59.8%, for home improvements and the consolidation of existing loans was 23.7%, and for home improvements only was 11.5%.
“As always, customers who are concerned about meeting payments should speak to their lender as soon as possible to find a solution.”
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
This includes presenting webinars and hosting roundtable discussions on developing themes in the mortgage sector.
She is an NCTJ-trained journalist and was nominated for the Headline Money Awards Mortgage Journalist of the Year in 2021.
In her spare time, Shekina likes to read, travel, listen to music and socialise with friends.
She currently reports on current events in the mortgage market and liaises with financial clients to produce sponsored content.
Follow her on Twitter at @ShekinaMS
