MortgagesSep 3 2015

High street banks show lending surge: BBA

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High-street banks showed a 29 per cent rise in remortgaging over the year to July, figures from the British Bankers’ Association have shown.

Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA, said the 29 per cent surge was the highest figure the BBA had seen for four years.

Overall mortgage approvals numbers in July were 15 per cent higher than a year ago, with house purchases rising 11 per cent.

Mr Woolhouse said the figures showed that “thousands of us managed to tear ourselves away from the Ashes series to remortgage during July.”

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “Several lenders did increase their pricing in July, so if borrowers are in a position to make a long-term commitment, a fixed rate can protect against future rises.

“It is unlikely that these current low rates are going to be around for much longer. Locking in now will extend the life of record low rates and maintain savings for as long as possible.”