The changes we have seen have taken some time to bed in, and the initial post-MCD second-charge lending figures reflected that teething trouble. Now we are starting to see a return to growth – the latest Finance & Leasing Association lending figures for June were up by 33 per cent by value and 22 per cent by value on the previous month, while the number of products in the first six months of 2017 were 11 per cent higher on the same period in 2016.
There does appear to be greater understanding of seconds and how they might fit certain client’s circumstances and one might expect that, as more advisers get to grips with the product and particularly how they might be used in the buy-to-let market, we might continue to see something of a resurgence in activity.
Christine Newell is mortgages technical director at Paradigm Mortgage Services
