Remortgaging hit a seven-year high of £4.8 billion in April, the largest amount since July 2009.
The number of remortgages grew by a fifth over the past year while the total amount of equity withdrawn topped £790 million, according to latest figures from LMS.
Gross remortgage lending was also 15% higher than in April last year.
LMS estimates that the actual number of remortgage loans rose by 21% from 26,600 in March to 32,230 in April.
That is also an increase of 15% year-on-year to 28,100, the largest number since September 2013.
The average amount of equity withdrawn from remortgaging per customer rose to £24,565 in April, a 13% rise from March.
This is also 57% higher than April 2014 when the average amount was £15,696.
Despite the substantial increase in the amount withdrawn, rising house prices mean the loan size hasn't increased and the average LTV amount actually fell by 4%.
Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: "The growth in remortgaging in April is a much-needed boost to a sector which has experienced huge fluctuations over the past 12 months.
"It also suggests we may be slowly returning to pre-crisis levels of activity with the total amount of equity withdrawn through remortgaging reaching figures we haven't seen since 2008.
"While we have a positive outlook for the year ahead, we do not anticipate a surge of activity but instead a steady stream of customers to keep lenders busy.
"The certainty that a clear election result brought saw the housing market breath a huge sigh of relief.
"But to maintain momentum we should continue to encourage brokers and customers to discuss the potential benefits of remortgaging, especially at a time when there are so many competitive offers around."
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