Remortgaging has reached its highest level for a decade as homeowners lock into attractive deals ahead of Brexit uncertainty.

The latest report from UK Finance shows there were 50,500 new remortgage buyers completing some 23.3% than in the same month a year earlier.

Lending values reached £9.2 billion for the month an increase of 22.7% compared to £7.5 billion recorded in October last year.

Jackie Bennett Director of Mortgages at UK Finance said, remortgaging has reached its highest level in almost a decade, as homeowners take advantage of a competitive market and lock into attractive deals.

There are a large number of two-year fixed rate mortgages taken out in 2016 coming to an end and this is expected to continue into 2019.

Buoyant first time buyer market

Although not as strong as homeowners remortgaging, the number of first time buyers are 8.2% more than last year with 32,900 in October up from 30,400 for the same month last year.

In terms of borrowing the value of loans are £5.5 billion for the month rising 12.2% from £4.4 billion in October 2017.

The average age of first time buyers is 30 with household earnings of £41,899 with a mortgage of £143,499 and loan to income multiples of 3.66 times.

First time buyers borrow with a loan to value (LTV) of 85% with the balance as a deposit of 15% or £25,323 with could be from savings or the government Help to Buy scheme.

Jackie Bennett said, there has been relatively strong growth in the number of first time buyers, with schemes such as Help to Buy providing vital support to those getting a foot on the housing ladder.

Older family members with value in their property allows the equity release buyer to access wealth using a lifetime mortgage and give children the deposit on their first home.

Improving buy-to-let remortgaging

The buy-to-let market has seen a continued increase in remortgaging and a softening in home purchase activity, in line with ongoing trends in recent months, says Jackie Bennett.

Numbers of buy-to-let investors remortgaging their properties has increased by 5.4% from 14,900 in October last year to 15,700.

There is increasing activity with landlords taking advantage of low interest rates to reduce their costs following the changes to taxation which has reduced their income.

In terms of values, lending has increased 4.2% to £2.5 billion compared to the same month a year ago in contrast to new purchases where lending has decreased 20.0% over the same period to £0.8 billion.

Homeowners are not as active moving home with 33,400 for October up 4.0% on last year although the value of loans are higher by 8.8% at £7.4 billion.

There has been a slowdown in home movers as the drop in housing market activity due to the higher deposit required to upsize and lack of supply of suitable homes to buy.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage brokers for advice if you remortgage your existing home and want the best mortgage deal or release capital, buying your first home, moving home or a buy-to-let investor.

Learn more by using the equity release calculator, mortgage monthly cost calculators, and property value tracker chart. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

For older homeowners releasing equity from your property, our LCM mortgage advisers can recommend the lifetime mortgage, accessing wealth to maintain your lifestyle or even gift to a family member or friend.