Data from the Bank of England revealed that in March there was a rise in the number of home loans approved in comparison to the previous month.  March approvals amounted to 53,504.  The approvals in February were 51,947 which was a five year low.  Despite the rise in March the level is still lower than what is normal for a healthy mortgage lending market.  Remortgages were also on the rise with 30,088 recorded for the final month of the first quarter.

Lenders have continued to offer attractive deals on purchase mortgages and remortgages.  The average cost of a two year fixed rate mortgage with a 25% deposit or equity level available was 2.91%.  The average standard variable rate (SVR) among lenders was 4.34%.  The substantial savings should be pulling homeowners away from SVRs and toward remortgages.

Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight, remarked, “The Bank of England data tie in with our suspicion that house prices may very well achieve a modest gain of a couple of per cent over 2013 supported by modestly firmer market activity, but it seems unlikely that house prices will make a decisive move upward given the still difficult and uncertain economic environment.

“Indeed, periodic slips in house prices remain highly possible over the coming months.”

Remortgages are expected to climb in demand with homeowners finding more availability in deals and better interest rates to continue to appear.  Historic levels of interest rates have appeared recently with many lenders.  As competition among lenders continues for attention from homeowners and homebuyers good deals should remain.