Outlook is bright for remortgaging

The average amount of equity withdrawn through remortgaging has hit a new high with borrowers taking out £31,887 on average.

This is the highest level recorded in the month of March for eight years.

Total equity withdrawn rose by 19% month-on-month from £814.7m in February to £965.6m in March, according to the latest research from LMS.

Total equity withdrawn is up by 61% year-on-year from the £600 million recorded in March 2015 and is the largest amount recorded in the month of March since 2008.

LMS’ figures also show that the number of remortgage loans increased by 7% from 28,400 in February to 30,282 in March, although the value of remortgage lending fell 3% to £4.7 billion over the month.

This is 10% higher than March 2015 when 27,600 borrowers remortgaged

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said March was a strong month as investors rushed to beat the stamp duty surcharge but the market could now slow.

“Speculation about the possibility of a Brexit will continue to dominate news and wreak havoc with financial markets.

“However, this should not dissuade people from remortgaging.

“Competitive rates mean the affordability of remortgages remains good and homeowners can vastly cut their monthly outgoings or withdraw large sums of money to cover an immediate cost.

“Latest views from the Bank of England suggest the base rate could fall even further boosting an already positive offering.”