Remortgage lending rose 21 per cent in the month to April of this year and 28 per cent year on year, as the average amount borrowed set an all-time high of £160,806.
The figures were revealed in the latest report from property services provider LMS, which found that remortgaging reached £4.4 billion in the year to April 2014, up from the £3.6 billion for March recently reported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and making it the best April for remortgage lending since 2008.
Borrowers released an average of £15,696 in equity, totalling £426 million.
Commenting on the latest figures, Andy Knee, chief Executive of LMS said: “Remortgaging has battled back in April after a dip in March at the early hand of MMR, having also been struck by a creeping up of rates from lenders. Total lending value was up by more than a quarter since last year making it the largest amount in April since 2008 while the average loan has also set a new record.
“However, we still fully expect MMR (Mortgage Market Review) to have a continued impact over the next few months before the market gets back to a healthy normal for the second half of the year.
“While lenders have begun increasing rates, there are still many good deals still on the table and 56 per cent of remortgage customers were able to take advantage of a new, lower mortgage rate.
“With so much attention from the Bank of England and FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), affordability is clearly the idiom of the month. And with so much speculation rife and a base rate rise looming on the horizon, we advise people to keep a tight check on their spending and plan ahead for the day when the governor does decide to raise interest rates.”
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