The Association of Short Term Lenders' (ASTL) value of applications for bridging loans saw a quarterly increase 13.9% in Q1 2017.
This is a yearly increase of 123% and the amount of loans written were up 11.4% in the same period.
The size of the overall loan book was up 45% on the March 2016 figure despite decreasing by 5.7% at the end of Q1 this year.
Benson Hersch (pictured), chief executive of the ASTL, said: “Despite recent uncertainties, including Brexit and the triggering of Article 50, applications are on the rise, suggesting that there is a renewed confidence amongst investors and homebuyers alike.
"However, there is still a clear disparity between applications and completions, reflecting increased competition as brokers shop around.
“Therefore, although lending for the year ended 31 March 2016 still falls shy of the elusive £3bn figure, as I expected, the number of applications were higher in Q1 of this year than in any previous quarter.
"It is very likely that the build up to the general election in June will have an effect, but in light of our recent sentiment survey in March, most lender members are increasingly positive about the outlook for 2017.”
