Remortgages on the increase

As the housing market slows and lenders tighten their belts, so the number of remortgages has increased, latest industry figures reveal.

The intermediary mortgage lenders association (IMLA) survey showed that 49 per cent of all recent cases in the market were remortgages.

Peter Williams, IMLA's executive director, explained: "With the current rebalancing of the market, it's becoming more difficult for non-standard borrowers to secure a loan to meet their circumstances. As a result we've seen standard status mortgages grow as a proportion of the total."

Mr Williams stressed the importance of lenders and brokers working together to support both first time buyers and existing homeowners who are struggling with switching to standard variable rate mortgages.

According to the IMLA survey, there has been an increase in first-time buyer loans from ten per cent to eleven per cent and buy-to-let mortgages have remained stable at 18 per cent.

Borrowers are clearly keen to play it safe with fixed rate mortgage deals. The Abbey Mortgage Index study for May found that 30 per cent would opt for a five-year fixed rate deal.

Mortgages News posted on 27/05/2008 16:01:07