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Remortgage Approvals Rise as Homeowners Rush to Avoid Rate Increase
This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Remortgage Approvals Rise as Homeowners Rush to Avoid Rate Increase
Remortgaging reached the highest level for seven years in July, as homeowners rush to take advantage of the record low borrowing rates before they increase.
38,042 remortgage deals, worth a total of £6.4 billion, were approved. This is the highest total since November 2008.
Loans for homebuyers also hit a 17-month high, with 68,764 approved in July at a total value of £11.6 billion.
Economist Howard Archer says that the figures are “compelling evidence” that housing market activity is strengthening, boosted by those “looking to lock in a low rate before they start rising.”1
In July, Bank of England (BoE) boss Mark Carney indicated that the base rate could rise from 0.5% at the turn of the year.
1 Taylor, J. (2015) ‘Re-mortgaging deals spike in rush to beat rate rise’, Metro, 2 September, p.24
