‘Securing debt’ the most searched criteria in second charges

2021 looks set to be another year of change in the mortgage market, with the second charge market seeing the biggest shift in January, according to the latest Knowledge Bank Tracker.

The bank saw a record 52,000 criteria changes in 2020, and last month had another 3,000 changes. Out of the four new terms in the top five, three related to managing or consolidating debt, including those with CCJs looking to second charge loans for finance. This demonstrates that a number of people are struggling financially and are using their homes to secure debt against it.

The one constant in January was ‘maximum loan-to-value (LTV)’, which has been the top searched ‘second charge’ criteria since May 2019.

‘Furloughed workers’ hit the top spot in the residential market again. This shows brokers were working with an increasing number of clients on the job support scheme, who were potentially struggling to get a mortgage.

Despite lenders returning to the 90% LTV market in full force, searches for ‘joint borrower sole proprietor’ reached the top five most-searched terms in residential criteria for the first time since February 2020.

This suggests that, even though higher LTV products are back on the market, the Bank of Mum and Dad is still essential for many people looking to get on the housing ladder. The support they require is probably due to the increasing cost of houses, as the average price paid by first-time buyers increased by 10% in 2020 to over £250,000, according to Halifax.

The data shows some first-time buyers may be turning to buy-to-let to get a foot on the ladder. ‘First-time buyers’ reached the top five search terms in the buy-to-let market for the first time since February 2020. This could be an option for those whose income is not high enough to afford a mortgage, but who have a large deposit and want to invest in property.

‘First-time landlord’ also remained in the top two most-searched terms for the eighth month in a row, showing interest in investing in property is not just restricted to first-time buyers.

‘Lending to limited companies’ was the top searched term in the buy-to-let market, as a rush of landlords set up companies before stringent tax changes take effect. Previously, landlords could claim tax relief at the same rate as their income tax banding on mortgage interest payments. However, from April 2021, landlords will no longer be able to offset any of their mortgage interest against their tax.

In the bridging market, ‘development bridging’ made the top five for the first time since February 2019. The volume of searches for ‘development bridging – maximum loan to GDV LTV against end value’ suggests there are people using bridging loans for major redevelopments.

Commenting on the significant interest in debt consolidation in the second charge market, Matthew Corker, operations director at Knowledge Bank, says: “The furlough scheme is at the top of brokers requests in the residential category as thousands of families are, or have now been, affected by being on furlough.”

“Just how supportive lenders will be of those that have been on the [furlough] scheme is still being established.”

“On the positive side, support from families appears to be helping buyers onto the ladder,” he adds. “This trend looks set to continue despite 90% LTV mortgages coming back to the market, as the average price for first-time buyers continues to rise.”

Corker believes that with the end of both the stamp duty holiday and furlough scheme, lenders will continue adapting criteria to keep up with the evolving market.