"In February, the second charge mortgage market reported its strongest rate of new business volumes growth since May 2017."
In the three months to February, lending volumes increased 13% by value and 19% by volume.
Over the year, second charge mortgage lending totalled £1,095m, a 6% annual rise, while the number of new agreements rose by 9% to 24,249.
Fiona Hoyle, head of consumer and mortgage finance at the FLA, said: “In February, the second charge mortgage market reported its strongest rate of new business volumes growth since May 2017.
“The popularity of second charge mortgages continues to grow as people opt to improve, rather than move.”
Geraldine Kilkelly, head of research and chief economist at the FLA, commented: “We continue to expect low single-digit new business growth in 2019 as a whole if uncertainty about the outlook for the UK economy reduces.”
