"Consumers searching for a competitively priced mortgage deal have an abundance of choice thanks to intense competition between lenders"
Bank of England data shows that remortgage approvals were up from 48,900 in November to 50,400 December 2018.
In response, the average two-year fixed rate now stands at 2.49%, down from 2.53% in November last year but still above the low of 2.39% seen in March 2018.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “Remortgage customers who locked into a two-year fixed deal at the end of 2018 may have missed out on a cheaper deal, as the average rate continues to decrease, dropping by 0.03% since January to stand at 2.49% today.
"Consumers searching for a competitively priced mortgage deal have an abundance of choice thanks to intense competition between lenders, including Barclays, Santander and TSB, which have all cut the rates on their two-year fixed deals over the past fortnight – and prominent lenders pushing down rates can signal others to follow suit.
“Despite this increasing competition, as it stands the housing market is feeling the anxieties of economic uncertainty, with activity subdued based on the recent statistics from Nationwide. Indeed, surveyors are reporting a drop in new buyer enquiries and new properties coming onto the market are also down. The average house price has now dropped by £2,740 since November 2018 to stand at £211,304, which is good news for buyers, but not so good for those hoping for their equity share to rise for refinancing purposes.
“Borrowers must be aware that this current lending environment is unlikely to continue indefinitely and lenders could slow down this aggressive pricing if they see fit, meaning rates may rise as they did between March and November last year, when they increased by 0.14%. Therefore, any borrowers yet to refinance or who are adopting the “wait and see” approach when deciding on whether or not to make a house purchase might want to consider doing so if they are anxious about ongoing uncertain economic factors.”
