Scramble for mortgage deals before Brexit as remortgages spike

Scramble for mortgage deals before Brexit as remortgages spike

Homeowners seized on ultra-low interest rates to remortgage in June, but would-be buyers are holding back as political turmoil continues to cause uncertainty, latest data has shown.

According to trade body UK Finance, a total of 16,880 remortgages were agreed in the month, up 8.3pc from the same time last year. But loans to first-time buyers slipped 1.5pc to 32,760, and home mover mortgages fell 3.6pc to 31,000.

Rates are close to record lows – with the average five-year deals charging interest of 2.8pc, according to data firm Moneyfacts – and customers are scrambling to lock in these deals.

In contrast, there were 15,320 new pound-for-pound remortgages (with no additional borrowing) in June, down almost a quarter (23.9 per cent) from June 2018. This has been driven in part by a slight drop in the number of fixed-rate mortgages coming to an end and the growing popularity of product transfers.



Last year there were 1.2 million product transfers in addition to 460,000 remortgages.

Callum Bilbe, analyst, data & research at UK Finance, said in a blog on the remortgaging figures: “This suggests that many of those who would traditionally have taken out a pound-for-pound remortgage are instead now switching products internally.”

David Copland, director of mortgage services at TMA, said:  “£90.2 billion worth of resi-mortgages and almost £8.3 billion worth of buy-to-let deals will come to the end of their terms between June and October this year.

“This represents a huge opportunity for advisers to talk to their customers about remortgaging, and to help them lock in the best deals available to them. As more brokers work to secure the best possible outcomes for their clients, there’s no reason why today’s remortgage numbers can’t continue to rise as we look ahead to the rest of the year.

“For certain borrowers, a product transfer may be the best option – another reason why advisers should be checking in with clients and reviewing their circumstances regularly. This is an area of the market I hope will be more frequently and robustly reported on in the future.”

The average age of first-time buyers was 32, and the average loan size was £172,158, UK Finance said.

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