"Overall the data would suggest that, whilst there has been a slight cooling in purchase activity, it’s been ‘business as usual’, with an increase in demand for remortgages."
The total number of mortgage products rose for the eighteenth consecutive month in July, with more than 23,000 products available - the highest amount seen since 2008.
The Index also identified that whilst new mortgage application activity in July decreased by 5.9% against June, remortgage activity increased by 4.24% month on month, and 29.8% year on year, suggesting a confident 2016 market.
The amount of purchase applicants who opted for fixed rate products in July stood at 93.2%, a marginal decrease on June (95%).
Mortgage Advice Bureau’s Head of Lending, Brian Murphy, commented: “Although many had expected activity in the market to pause or drop significantly in July due to the referendum result in June, overall the data would suggest that, whilst there has been a slight cooling in purchase activity, it’s been ‘business as usual’, with an increase in demand for remortgages.
“The last time there were over 20,000 mortgage products was March 2008, which was pre-financial crisis, when 23,802 products were available.
“The wealth of product availability, coupled with rock bottom rates has led to the overwhelming majority of people fixing their mortgage; those remortgaging and fixing dropped slightly in July to 88.4%, down from 90.7% in June, with 93.2% of purchase applicants opting for a fixed deal.”
