The number of people remortgaging their homes with additional borrowing spiked in March, according to data released today, as people took advantage of favourable interest rates.
Read more: Experts warn of 'bumpy ride' for UK house prices
Meanwhile the number of new loans to both movers and first time buyers fell in March year-on-year, figures from finance and business services company UK Finance have revealed.
In March there were 16,180 new remortgages with additional borrowing, a 9.1 per cent increase year on year. The average amount taken out on top of the remortgage money was £55,700.
There were 1.1 per cent fewer simple pound-for-pound remortgages in March, at 15,030.
New first-time buyer mortgages reached 28,800 in March, according to the finance and business services organisation, 2.4 per cent fewer than in the same month a year earlier.
The number of new mortgages going to those moving house fell six per cent to 25,280.
Andrew Montlake, director of the UK mortgage broker Coreco, said: “With rates nearing rock-bottom given the intensity of competition among lenders, remortgages have gone off the Richter Scale.”
"The 9.1 per cent rise in additional borrowing remortgages compared to a year ago reflects the fact that a lot of people are choosing to add value to their existing homes rather than move,” he said.
“While home-mover mortgages were down in March, purchases have really started to gain momentum since April, with the usual late spring lift being boosted by a growing indifference to Brexit,” Montlake added.
Keith Haggart, managing director of mortgage provider Responsible LendiRead More – Source
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