Remortgage completions up 24% as rate rises continue: LMS

82.95% of remortgagers now expect interest rates to increase further within the next year.

46% of borrowers increased their loan size in April and 54% took out a five-year fixed rate.

27% said the most popular main aim when remortgaging was to release equity in their property.

The data also shows that pipeline cases dropped 15% month-on-month, which LMS attributes to seasonal fluctuations.

Nick Chadbourne, CEO of LMS, said: “The figures show that there has been a substantial decrease in cancellations as well as an increase in completions, indicating improved levels of efficiency across the board.

“Similarly, while instructions also fell month-on-month, this is just down to the seasonal nature of the market – we always see a drop in instructions over the Easter period, especially since it fell near the start of a new quarter this year. We will see this increase again as consumers are looking to make savings in light of the cost of living crisis and continued base rate rises – they are likely to look for competitive fixed rate products, especially in the run up to the next ERC date which we expect to be in late June or early July.

“As such, lenders need to continue working closely with suppliers to assist people in finding the right products for them. Collaboration will be more important than ever to ensure further demands on market capacity can be mitigated and handled efficiently.”