According to the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), new business volumes for the three months to June were also up by 44 per cent compared to the same period last year.
For the year to June, the market has completed new business valued at £1.36bn. This is an increase of 61 per cent on last year.
Additionally, the number of new agreements reached 2,854 in June surpassing the pre-pandemic peak. Compared to the same period last year, this was up by nearly a quarter.
The three months to June saw 8,529 new agreements completed, which was a 37 per cent rise on the same period the year before. For the 12 months to June, there were 30,849 new agreements, which was a 52 per cent jump.
Fiona Hoyle (pictured), director of consumer and mortgage finance and inclusion at the FLA, said: “The second charge mortgage market continued to report new business growth in June, but at a slower rate than in recent months.
“As always, customers who are concerned about meeting payments should speak to their lender as soon as possible to find a solution.”
Andrew Fisher, chief commercial officer at Freedom Finance, said: “Debt consolidation is likely to be a core theme of the cost-of-living crisis, and second charge mortgages are one of many tools available to homeowners looking to pay off more expensive debt or simplify their credit commitments.
“It can also be an excellent way to take advantage of any property equity growth, especially if their area saw strong house price growth through the pandemic.”
Fisher said there was a “new second charge mortgage customer demographic emerging from the pandemic”, as people looked to fund home renovations.
“Given that house prices keep rising and interest rates are also creeping up, we expect this trend to continue,” he added.
He said second charges could also be attractive to borrowers on long-term fixed rate deals who did not want to remortgage or pay early repayment charges.