"Remortgaging in April has bounced back after a quiet March, with levels of activity taking place that haven't been seen since the recession."
This represents a 36% increase from the £4.7bn recorded in March and a 48% uplift from April 2015’s figure of £4.3bn.
The number of remortgage loans also increased – by 41% – from 28,000 in March to 39,353 in April. This is the greatest number since July 2009 when 39,500 remortgaged.
Low interest rates have also resulted in mortgage affordability improving sharply. Remortgage payments as a percentage of income are at 16.79%, a record low, down from 18.4% the previous month.
Andy Knee, Chief Executive of LMS said: “Remortgaging in April has bounced back after a quiet March, with levels of activity taking place that haven’t been seen since the recession. March saw the market overwhelmed by second home-owners looking to push through transactions before changes to Stamp Duty came in, but as April arrived, existing homeowners were able to remortgage and capitalise on the great rates currently available.
"Homeowners can also celebrate that – as a result of such low mortgage rates and rising incomes – repayments as a percentage of income have fallen to a record low, boosting family finances."
