As remortgages hit 9-year high, let Homeward Legal deal with the legal side

Remortgages are at a nine-year high in the UK as existing home owners take advantage of still-low interest rates and the equity in their property to secure better deals.

UK Finance, the trade body that represents the financial industry, revealed that almost 50,000 home owners remortgaged in January alone, up almost a fifth (19.1 percent) on the same month last year. The total of 49,800 remortgages is the highest monthly figure since November 2008, while the £8.9 billion in new lending on those remortgages is up 20.3 percent on January 2017.

Meanwhile, 24,500 first-time buyer mortgages were completed in January 2018, a rise of 7 percent on January 2017. Those first-time buyers have borrowed £4 billion from UK mortgage lenders. According to UK Finance, the average first-time buyer is aged 30 and has a gross household income of £41,000.

Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “Remortgaging in January reached a nine-year high, as a number of previous fixed rate mortgages came to an end while borrowers locked into attractive deals amid expectations of further interest rate rises.

“While an increase in remortgaging is expected in the New Year as people put their household finances in order, this strong growth is above the seasonal fluctuations we tend to see at this time of year. We saw the usual dip in both first-time buyers and home-movers post the December festive period, but mortgage lending in both segments increased compared to the same period in 2017.”

If you're a home owner considering remortgaging for a better deal or to release equity in your property, Homeward Legal can help. Our nationwide panel of solicitors are hugely experienced in dealing with remortgages, and all are on the lenders' panel of approved solicitors.

Call our expert team now on to kickstart your remortgaging process.