News
Rise in remortgagors in run up to Election
The number of people remortgaging rose by 8% in May, according to LMS.
The conveyancing business said that 31,936 mortgages were switched to a new deal over the month, compared to 29,300 in April.
But the value of these transactions dipped slightly by 1%, according to the firm, with remortgages totalling £5.1bn in May.
In a fix
LMS also noted that borrowers are increasingly switching to a longer-term fixed rate mortgage to protect against potential rising interest rates.
Over a third of switchers (34%) chose a five-year fix in May, despite only 8% of them having previously had such a deal before they decided to remortgage.
However, the majority said they don’t expect an imminent rise in interest rates, with 58% predicting no change in the next 12 months.
Andy Knee chief executive of LMS, said that borrowers were not fazed by the Election because they had expected a clear outcome. “Pollsters and the public had predicted a solid election result of a 100+ seat majority for the Conservative Party and continuity at the heart of government. Pre-election confidence was the main driver behind the increase in the number of remortgage transactions.”