The average amount of equity withdrawn from remortgaging has hit a new record of £36,894 per customer in November, according to research from LMS. This is an increase of 4% from the previous high of £35,590 recorded in August this year.

The figure is also up by more than a quarter (27%) month-on-month from £29,027 in October, and a whopping 76% from this time last year, when the average loan amount was just £20,906.

The total amount of equity released by remortgaging reached £1.1bn in November, 16% higher than last month and more than double the £0.5bn recorded in November 2014.

Remortgaging boost

The findings also show that the value of monthly gross remortgage lending fell to £4.6bn in November, down 17% from October’s Council of Mortgage Lenders’ figure of £5.5bn. However, this is up by more than a quarter (27%) year-on-year, when just £3.6bn of remortgage loans were recorded.

November also saw a 9% fall in the number of remortgage loans taken out by borrowers, decreasing to 29,363 from 32,100 in October 2015. This is, however, up 22% from the 24,000 remortgages recorded in November of last year.

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “The latter part of 2015 has been much stronger than the start for remortgaging yet, despite this resurgence, it still remains a long way off the levels seen prior to the recession.

“Rising house prices and competitive rates mean that remortgaging remains affordable, presenting the opportunity to capitalise on massive savings. Borrowers in November were able to withdraw a record sum from remortgaging, providing many families with a much-needed cash injection in the run up to Christmas.”