Zoopla Property : Remortgaging activity in November soars by 36%

What's the latest?

Remortgaging activity soared by more than a third in November to hit its highest level for the month for seven years.

A total of 29,300 loans worth £4.9bn were advanced to people switching to a new deal. That's 24% more by volume and 36% more by value than in November 2014, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

In fact, the amount of money advanced homeowners remortgaging was the highest for November since 2008.

But despite the strong year-on-year increase, there was a 9% drop in the number of people securing a new mortgage deal compared with October.

Why is this happening?

Remortgaging activity was strong for much of the last six months of 2015 as homeowners braced themselves for higher interest rates.

A warning by the Bank of England governor in July that interest rates could start to increase at the turn of the year, spurned many people into remortgaging to lock into the low rates on offer.

'Lenders had a keen eye on year-end targets so there were some very competitive deals to tempt borrowers towards the end of last year, a trend that has continued into this one.'

Despite the fact that the warning proved to be premature, many homeowners continued to take advantage of the competitive deals available.

This trend is likely to continue following the recent interest rate increase in the US.

The month-on-month dip in remortgaging seen in November reflects a slight slowdown in the wider mortgage market, due to the traditional winter dip.

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: 'Lenders had a keen eye on year-end targets so there were some very competitive deals to tempt borrowers towards the end of last year, a trend that has continued into this one.

'The January sales has brought plenty of attractive deals, with many aimed at those coming up to remortgage who may be concerned that interest rates might rise this year.'

Who does it affect?

The current buoyancy in the mortgage market is great news for existing homeowners and potential buyers alike.

The steep year-on-year rise in both the number of people taking out loans and their value, suggests lenders are well and truly open for business.

In fact, lending levels were up across all categories in November, compared with a year earlier.

At the same time, the mortgage market remains highly competitive, meaning good deals are available for borrowers.

Sounds interesting. What's the background?

After rising briefly in July in response to the warning that interest rates could rise, mortgage rates resumed their downward trend during the rest of 2015.

The average cost of a two-year fixed rate mortgage currently stands at a record low of 2.56%, according to financial information group Moneyfacts.

Meanwhile, the market for borrowers with smaller deposits is becoming increasingly competitive.

The typical interest on a two-year fixed rate deal for those with just a 5% deposit to put down fell by a further 0.04% in January, while there were similar drops to the rates charged on 90% and 85% loan-to-value mortgages.

Top 3 takeaways

• The amount of money advanced to borrowers remortgaging in November hit its highest level for the month since 2008.

• A total of 29,300 remortgage loans worth were advanced in November - 24% more by volume and 36% more by value than in the same month of 2014.

• But there was a 9% drop in the number of people remortgaging compared with October.

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