The tracker also revealed that brokers were searching for ‘capital raising for debt consolidation’.
Searches in the buy-to-let (BTL) and residential sectors remained relatively stable from November.
With house prices still rising, searches for ‘maximum age at end of term’ and ‘income multiple used for affordability assessment’ were both popular in the residential market.
December marked the first month ever in which ‘maximum age at end of term’ featured in the most-searched terms in the BTL market.
In the equity release sector, brokers were searching for ‘leasehold remaining at end of mortgage’ and ‘leasehold remaining at beginning of term’.
Alongside those looking to release equity in their existing homes, there was a growing trend of borrowers looking to build their own homes, said Knowledge Bank, as brokers searched for ‘lend against land’ and ‘interest only during build’ in December.
‘Regulated bridging’ remained a popular search in the bridging market, with December marking the seventh time in the previous eight months that it has occupied the top-searched spot.
Matthew Corker, operations director at Knowledge Bank, said: “By looking at the searches brokers conducted in December, it is clear many business owners were looking to use property to raise capital. The interesting question is why?
“These searches could indicate disruption caused by the pandemic is still harming a number of industries.
“However, the flip side is that some of these businesses may be using second charge mortgages to adapt and take advantage of opportunities.
“Alongside using second charge loans for business purposes, more and more borrowers are looking into the option of building their own home.
“The relaxed rules around brownfield sites announced in the Autumn Budget may have sparked the interest in lending against land, as the changes will result in more opportunities for self-building.
“Searches in the bridging sector were predominantly for regulated loans, as despite the end of the stamp duty holiday, buyers are still under pressure as sellers now have a choice of bids.
“Those that have already agreed a bridging loan are therefore well-placed as they can move regardless of when their property sells.”
