Gross remortgage lending increased by £147 million in July to £4.2 billion, according to the latest figures from LMS Property Services.
The sum is up 12.7 per cent on June’s £3.7 billion reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) last week and is also the highest figures since 2008.
The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending rose 11.9 per cent in July to £16.6bn, from £14.8bn in June. As a result, remortgages now represent a quarter (25 per cent) of the market.
LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans in July increased by 6.7 per cent to 28,590, compared with 26,800 in June. This figure is also up 13.9 per cent on this time last year (25,100).
The average remortgage loan amount has fallen by 2.4 per cent over the past month and now stands at £145,887. However, this figure is 11 per cent higher than this time last year.
Commenting on the latest figures, Andy Knee, Chief Executive of LMS says: “Following subdued remortgage activity in June this month’s figures show a significant boost, with both gross remortgage lending and the number of remortgages both increasing significantly. In fact, the total remortgage lending figure marks the most successful July we have seen since 2008.
“The average amount of equity being released has fallen this month from its 13-month high in June but due to the increase in the number of customers, the total amount of equity being released by remortgaging is continuing to grow month by month.
“Despite Carney’s tying of an increase in interest rates to unemployment figures, more than one in seven (14 per cent) of our customers in July said they believed rates were going to rise. It is a good idea to take advantage of these deals whilst they are still around.”
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