37% of borrowers increased their loan size last month, according to data from LMS’ Monthly Remortgage Snapshot for April.
The report also found that there was a £300 average monthly payment increase for those who remortgaged in April.
51% of those who remortgaged took out a 5-year fixed rate product, making this the most popular product of the month.
The data also found that 27% of borrowers said their main aim when remortgaging was to lower their monthly payments.
Remortgage activity overall was found to have increased by a respectable 9%.
Nick Chadbourne, CEO of LMS, said: “The anticipated Easter lull was primarily responsible for pushing down instruction and pipeline figures.
“These seasonal trends always play a part in market activity, although we expect that there are also increasing numbers of borrowers opting for product transfers instead of remortgages amid the affordability squeeze.
“With borrowers primarily focused on lowering their monthly payments, many are also more inclined to bide their time and wait for better products to become available.”
Regionally, the average remortgage loan amount in London and the South East was £301,621 while the average for the rest of the UK stood at £154,478.
This put remortgage loan amounts almost 95% higher in London and the South East than the rest of the UK.
Chadbourne added: “We’re expecting instructions and the pipeline to increase again in May. With the Bank of England raising the base rate to 4.5%, more of those who are on trackers or SVRs will look to switch to a more competitive fixed rate product and the introduction of innovative products such as Skipton’s 100% mortgage will only encourage this further.
“Aside from that, lenders are generally relaxing their affordability criteria thanks to there being more economic certainty and confidence in employment and house prices, playing into the prediction of an increased pipeline.”
