Remortgage renaissance ahead of Bank of England rate rise
Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the Bank of England mortgage data for 2021 Q4, showing Remortgage renaissance ahead of rate rise.
Key points from publication:
- 28% of mortgages paid out to owner occupiers in the last three months of 2021 were remortgages, up 10 percentage points in a year. This was the highest share of mortgages since the onset of the pandemic.
- £27.3 billion of remortgages were agreed for the coming months – the highest in three years. Before that, the value of agreed remortgages hadn’t been this high in a decade.
- We borrowed £70.2 billion in mortgages in the last three months of 2021: the lowest since autumn 2020.
Sarah Coles said:
“We saw a remortgage renaissance at the end of last year, as property owners leapt through the window of opportunity to lock in a cheap deal for years before higher rates took hold.
“During the last three months of 2021, rate rise speculation took hold, so much so that the markets were surprised when the first rise was put off until December. Property owners realised that the era of cheap mortgages deals was coming to an end, so now was the time to get a new fixed rate deal while they were still around.
“Remortgages made up a larger proportion of mortgages than any time since the onset of pandemic. The value of remortgages for the coming months hit £27.3 million – the highest in three years, and the second highest since 2008.
“Overall mortgage lending fell towards the end of the year, but we already know this was a blip because January figures have revealed buyers are still keen. Despite the recent rises, mortgage rates are still incredibly low, and with lockdown savings burning a hole in some people’s pockets, there are still compelling reasons to buy.”
Kindly shared by Hargreaves Lansdown
Main photo courtesy of Pixabay
