Almost two in three people remortgaging in August 2015 were tempted by the lower mortgage rates, according to a survey conducted by property outsourcing services provider LMS.
Nearly two in five (37 per cent) of borrowers took advantage of low mortgage rates to reduce their monthly payments by up to £500, with 4 per cent reducing monthly payments by more than £500.
Remortgagors also withdrew record amounts of cash from their homes in August with almost a third (30 per cent) seeking to increase the size of their loan. More than a fifth increased the size of their loan by more than £20,000.
Of those increasing the size of their loan, more than one in four (28 per cent) chose to remortgage to spend on home improvements, while six in 10 (60 per cent) opted to pay off debts. A small percentage also used the additional cash to help a child buy a property.
Although rates are low at the moment, the number of remortgage customers who believe rates will rise soon increased in August to 28 per cent from 22 per cent in July. In February the proportion of remortgagors concerned about a rate rise was still fairly low, at 16 per cent.
