Monthly gross remortgage lending increased by £364 million in September to £3.9 billion, according to figures from LMS.
This is up 10.4 per cent on the £3.5 billion reported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) for August and 20.8 per cent more than this time last year.
The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending fell slightly to £16.2 billion in September. As a result, remortgages now represent nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of the market.
LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans in September increased by just 1.7 per cent to 25,515, compared with 25,000 in August. This figure is also 5.4 per cent higher than this time last year (24,200).
The average remortgage loan amount has also risen by 1.4 per cent over the past month and now stands at £151,428. This figure is also 10.2 per cent higher than this time last year.
Commenting on the latest figures, Andy Knee, Chief Executive of LMS says: “Following a slight knock in August, the remortgage sector appears to have leapt back on its feet – with remortgage lending growing by more than 10% during September. The market as a whole has been contracting slightly over the past three months, and as a result remortgages now account for a larger proportion of the market.
“The average remortgage loan amount is currently the highest it has ever been, according to our records which date back to 2005. This is indicative of the steady upward trend in the average house price that we have been witnessing in recent months.
“There are some fantastic deals out there, and as you can see even those with an existing mortgage are able to take advantage.”
