The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a rise in remortgaging loans as homeowners anticipated interest rate hikes.
According to the CML, there were almost 34,000 remortgage loans advanced in March – 16% higher compared with February and a rise of 17% on an annual basis.
Remortgaging has remained subdued during the historically low interest rate environment but soaring inflation over the last few months has led to speculation that interest rates will be lifted.
In the meantime, mortgage approvals for house purchases also rose by 24% in March to 37,800 on a monthly basis but was 17% lower on an annual basis.
CML director general Michael Coogan comments: We saw a significant increase in both house purchase and remortgage lending in March but, over the first quarter of the year as a whole, the picture was subdued and that is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future.
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