Total gross mortgage lending fell to £17.0bn; remortgaging now accounts for 25% of the total market.
Those remortgaging are each taking out an average of £26,498 in extra equity (above the value of the redeeming loan). This figure is not only 22.8% higher than the previous month and 33.5% higher than this time last year – but it is in fact the highest figure on record. This figure implies the total amount of equity withdrawn by remortgaging in November to be £741.1m.
LMS figures reveal that monthly gross remortgage lending increased by £18m in November to £4.22bn. This is up 0.4% on October’s £4.20bn reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders last week, and 24.1% higher than this time last year.
The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending fell to £17.0bn in November. As a result, remortgages now represent 25% of the total market.
LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans in November dropped to 27,968, compared with 28,300 in October. However, despite this, the number of remortgage customers in November is still 5.9% higher than this time last year (26,400).
The average remortgage loan amount has risen slightly (by 1.0%) over the past month and now stands at £150,822. This figure is also 8.8% higher than this time last year.
Commenting on the latest figures, Andy Knee, Chief Executive of LMS says:
“While the CML reported total gross mortgage lending to be down slightly over the past month, the remortgage market has resisted the seasonal dip and is up 0.4% on October’s figure.
“In November, remortgage lending continued to climb as savvy customers flock to the array of competitive rates on offer. Our latest customer survey suggests that more than a third (35%) were able to reduce their monthly payments by up to £500.
“Last month remortgage customers released more cash than ever before, over £26,400, which will most likely be used to fund a festive spending spree. Looking ahead into the New Year, we are likely to see activity levels continue to rise, although the introduction of the Mortgage Market Review in the spring may prove to be something of a rumble strip.”
