However the December was a mixed month for the sector with a fall in the number of cases by 1% year-on-year, to 1,584, although the value of the new business increased by 3% to £76m.
Seen from a longer time scale, volume numbers turned positive: the 12 months to December 2017 saw 21,947 cases – a 10% increase from 2016 with just over £1bn of second charge cases – a 14% jump.
Meanwhile the three months to December saw a 7% year-on-year bump with 5,415 new cases and 9% rise in the value of new business to £245m.
FLA data also showed that second charge mortgage repossessions fell to a record low in 2017 – declining 27% to 105 repossessions, against 144 in the previous year.
However, the announcements are released as the second charge market has come under fire and regulatory investigation for lax lending standards.
Fiona Hoyle, head of consumer and mortgage finance at FLA, commented: “Second charge mortgage new business volumes have now returned to levels last seen in 2015, before regulation transferred to the Financial Conduct Authority’s mortgage regime. “
She continued: “The sector has shown resilience during a period of significant regulatory change, as it works to ensure that all the new regulatory requirements are in place.
“Consumers use second charge mortgages for a variety of purposes, particularly funding home improvements and property extensions.”
