A further 42 per cent remortgaged to reduce their monthly payments, with 3 per cent managing to cut their mortgage outgoings by as much as £500 per month.
Of those who increased their loan, 14 per cent did so by as much as £10,000, with 16 per cent of that figure releasing equity in their home to fund home improvements, and 9 per cent using the extra capital to consolidate existing debts.
Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “Homeowners choosing to remortgage are currently able to take advantage of some excellent rates from lenders, whether they choose to do so to free up some capital or to simply reduce their monthly mortgage burden.”
Statistics
66% remortgaging to take advantage of lower rates
21% remortgaging to increase size of loan
3% of customers reduced monthly payments by more than £500
Adviser View
Nick Blatcher, director of Buckinghamshire-based IFA Citrus Mortgages, said: “We haven’t seen a massive increase in the amount of products available for remortgages, but the market has definitely improved. Generally, we can now get better deals for customers – a few years ago, that wasn’t the case.”
