Remortgage lending increased in June according to LMS, and the same demand from homeowners is expected to continue. June remortgaging volume amounted to 35,913 which is up from 32,600 in May. A yearly comparison revealed an increase as well of 10% from the 32,300 recorded in June of 2016.

Homeowners have found the borrowing environment attractive with lenders being competitive for customers and therefore offering competitive remortgage deals. Not only are offers attached to low interest rates, but there are fixed rate deals to be found with incentives such as free valuations and free legal work.

Andy Knee, the chief executive with LMS, remarked, “The remortgage market had an excellent month in June. More homeowners saved on their monthly repayments by remortgaging in June, compared to May. This was driven by the competition between lenders, many of whom have been offering mortgage products with rock bottom rates to entice remortgagers to switch.”

He added, “In June, the market was bracing itself for a rate rise – there was considerable speculation that the Monetary Policy Committee was going to increase rates in the foreseeable future. Remortgagers thought the tide was about to turn, with a greater number expecting a rate rise in the next twelve months.

“This fueled the ongoing shift to fixed five-year deals, but half way through July, inflation fell to 2.6% from 2.9% the month before. It was the first rate drop in the annual rate since October. Economists had expected it to remain at 2.9% – a four year high.”

There are still many homeowners sitting on their lenders’ standard variable rate (SVR) having had their current mortgage deal end. With a possible tightening of lending in the future, it would be expected that homeowners will continue to seek out new deals in the months ahead keeping the demand on remortgage strong throughout the third quarter of the year.