Remortgage instructions decreased by 9% in May, LMS’s Monthly Remortgage Snapshot has revealed.
The snapshot also revealed that 9% more remortgages were completed in May when compared to the month prior, while pipeline cases decreased by 11%.
£342.03 was the average monthly payment increase for those who remortgaged throughout the month.
In addition, 45% of borrowers increased their loan size, and 48% of those who remortgaged took out a 2-year fixed rate product.
26% said their main aim when remortgaging was to lower their monthly payments, making it the most popular response.
The average remortgage loan amount in London was £375,612, while the average for the rest of the UK stood at £171,223 making remortgage loan amounts 119% higher in London than in the rest of the country.
The longest previous mortgage length was found in London at 72.20 months (6.02 years), while the shortest was in the North East at 57.89 months (4.82 years), making the longest previous mortgage term 24.7% longer than the shortest.
Nick Chadbourne (pictured), CEO of LMS, said: “The remortgage market follows the usual patterns, just like Gareth Southgate’s strategies at a major tournament.
“There is still a high level of product transfers as lenders aim to increase retention in a low-margin environment, and the summer has a drop in product maturities, which means the remortgage market will be very low until schools reopen.
“The Prime Minister surprised us all with the decision to have an election in July, while the Bank of England kept rates the same at the beginning of June, citing one metric as the reason, but I think we all know it’s because of the election.
“So, the sun is shining, the football is on, kids are about to finish school, and ERCs are low – all signs indicate a quiet few months in the remortgage world.”
