Second charge lending fell for the fourth month in a row in December, although over the year these types of loans jumped by 45%, data reported to Loans Warehouse from second charge lenders shows.   

Secured home loans dipped for the fourth consecutive month in December to £101.5m, down £34m on November.  

However, total second charge lending in 2022 totalled £1.71bn, a 45% increase from a year ago.  

Falls in the latter part of the year coincided with former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s tax-cutting September mini-Budget which accelerated already rising mortgage rates. Action taken by current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in October and in the November Autumn Statement calmed markets, although home loans remain elevated.     

In December, the percentage of lending above 85% loan to value lifted by just under 2% compared to the previous month, the highest increase since last July.  

There were 2,150 completions, a 26% fall on November, with average loan terms at 16.10 years.  

Completion times from submission held steady throughout the month at 18.9 days, down by 0.47 days from the previous month.   

Loans Warehouse draws its data from a range of lenders including Pepper Money, Oplo, United Trust Bank, Together, Norton Home Loans, Equifinance, Evolution Money and Selina Finance.