The certain increase in interest rates is coming and homeowners are showing up on the doorsteps of lenders to lock into an attractive rate and remortgage. Although the Bank of England announcement took place several weeks ago, the remortgage market is still surging according to the most recent data. During the month of June remortgage lending took off. Year on year, lending boomed 34% in the month, reaching £5.1bn. Remortgage loans by volume also hit an elevated level, up more than 30%. More than 31,600 loans were obtained.

Personal house owner remortgages blossomed during June, but that is only the beginning. Buy to let also had a strong showing. It was up more than 54% year on year, totaling £3.4bn.

Paul Smee, director of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, commented on the latest remortgage data which has surfaced, saying: “Notable this month is the uptick in remortgage activity among homeowners, perhaps reflecting an increased desire to lock into competitively priced mortgage deals in advance of any rise in rates. It is likely that people are beginning to feel a rate rise is a realistic prospect.

“After a slower-than-expected start to the year, lending appears to be picking up as we expected, and in line with our revised forecasts.”

Others close to the UK housing market are not surprised at the latest surge in remortgage activity, including Mark Harris of SPF Private Clients.

Harris commented on the surge in remortgages, saying: “A few lenders have increased their fixed-rate pricing but there are still plenty of excellent deals and there will continue to be as lenders compete for business. Lenders continue to struggle to meet volume targets and will absorb much of any underlying increase in swap rates via lower margins.”