Homeowners are revealing an increase in demand for remortgages according to data released by unbiased.co.uk.  The professional advice Web site reported that there were more searches for remortgages and buy to let advice while at the same time first time buyer searches declined.  The searches for remortgage advice increased to 35% in May of all mortgage enquires compared to the 30% level recorded in April.  Last year the enquiries for remortgages in May amounted to 30% of all mortgage enquires.

Interest in first time buying advice dropped slightly from 39% in April to 38% for May.  While there was a decline it still remained the number one advice driver for the advice site.  Buy to let advice was searched for 21% over the 19% in April.

The increase in remortgage advice is being credited to the recent increases from lenders in their standard variable rates.  This is the rate a homeowner is converted to when they do not seek a remortgage at the end of their current mortgage deal.  It is considered a risky rate when compared to a fixed or tracker rate since there is no stability or set level to expect for the homeowner over the course of a mortgage deal term.

Karen Barrett, chief executive of Unbiased, said, “It comes as little surprise that the recent rate rises by lenders have driven a renewed interest in searches for remortgage advice as consumers contemplate switching to a better deal in an attempt to save money.

“We have already seen a number of lenders including Halifax, Bank of Ireland, Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks, RBS and Co-operative Bank increase their standard variable rates, leaving over a million borrowers with higher mortgage payments.”