Legal Marketing Services (LMS) comments on ONS House Price Index

Nick Chadbourne, chief executive of Legal Marketing Services (LMS), comments on today’s ONS House Price Index:

“Sluggish house price growth in May will reduce the incentive for homeowners to move. This slowdown will be a boost to the remortgage market. With property values no longer rising rapidly, many homeowners are sitting tight and remortgaging to extend their own property, rather than moving.  Our figures show 26% of borrowers remortgaged this month to fund home improvements. Many borrowers are also taking the opportunity to release more equity from their homes, as the gap between average advances and redemptions is at its highest level in ten months. And the slower house price growth will also be welcome news for those hoping to get on the property ladder. When combined with minimal increases in average rents, we may see an uptick in first-time buyers in the coming months.”

Kindly shared by LMS