Rermortgaging activity has far outpaced all other sectors of the housing market in August 2015, with valuations for remortgage customers rising by whopping 102 per cent year-on-year, Connells Survey & Valuation data reveals.
Compared to July, remortgage valuations surged by 25 per cent as the rush of borrowers to get the best deals out there before a base rate hike continues.
Apart from remortgaging the rest of the market moved slower as usual for the summer months. Valuations for all, first-time buyers (31 per cent), home movers (30 per cent) and buy-to-let landlords (29 per cent) grew by around a third on the previous year.
On a monthly basis, there was a marginal increase in both the first-time buyer part of the market (1 per cent) and the home mover one (3 per cent), while buy-to-let valuations fell by 5 per cent on July.
Overall valuation activity was up 48 per cent on August 2014, mostly due to the remortgaging boom, and was by 7 per cent higher than in July 2015.
John Bagshaw, corporate services director of Connells Survey & Valuation, comments:
“Concern and media attention about an interest rate rise in the near future is the key driver of this surge. Due to the very low Bank of England base rate, there are currently some very appealing remortgaging deals on offer from lenders. But homeowners have been influenced by a powerful perception that these deals will not last.
“Underneath the short-term surge, remortgaging is also driven by a longer term shift. People are increasingly looking to upgrade their home rather than trade – and so, for a slightly different purpose, are also keen to take advantage of cheaper mortgage deals.
“Meanwhile, the wider picture looks encouragingly stable. First-time buyers and home-owners are far more optimistic about the housing market now than they were at this point in 2014 – and this is evident from the strong, steady growth we’ve been seeing throughout 2015.”
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