This year’s remortgaging boost continued in October, according to UK Finance, with numbers of loans at record levels.

The financial trade body found that the number and value of loans for remortgaging and for house purchases rose in October in comparison with a month ago and with the same period in 2016.

It also noted that the costs of mortgages remained near record lows for both home movers and first-time buyers, as well as remortgagors, reflecting a competitive mortgage marketplace.

UK Finance’s head of mortgage policy, June Deasy, said: “Mortgage repayments as a proportion of income still remain at or close to their historic low point, and despite the recent Base Rate rise we can expect monthly mortgage payments to remain affordable for the vast majority of borrowers.”

Lending breakdown

First-time buyer lending was up 2% between September and October and 13.3% over the year.

Home mover lending rose by 2.9% on September and 18.6% higher year-on-year.

And remortgage activity soared 15.9% during October to £7.3bn – 17.7% higher than a year ago. There were 41,100 remortgages taken out during the month, an increase of 16.1% on September.

Harry Landy, managing director of Enterprise Finance, said: “It’s encouraging that appetite for lending has picked up again in October, which reflects the fact that borrower confidence is high – even at a time of on-going political and economic instability.

“However, although today’s figures are welcome, 2017 has been a turbulent year for the industry, so it’s important not to get carried away.”