There was a 12% rise in remortgage instructions in February, the LMS remortgage snapshot reveals.
Data showed that there was an 11% increase in completed remortgages in February, while the overall cancellation rate decreased by 8%.
The most popular main aim when remortgaging was to lower monthly payments, cited by 28% of borrowers.
The survey by the conveyancing firm says 42% of borrowers increased their loan sizes in February, with average monthly payments lifting by £294.66.
It adds that 46% of those who remortgaged took out a five-year fixed-rate product, which was the most popular product last month.
LMS chief executive officer Nick Chadbourne says: “Q1 has the lowest product expiries of the year, so seeing such buoyant activity through January and February bodes well for the rest of 2025.”
“We have two significant spikes ahead: at the end of Q2 and towards the end of the year, so
expect to see pipelines grow from now until June.”
“In terms of behaviours, we are still seeing increases in monthly payments, partly due to borrowers increasing their loan sizes but also due to continued rate shock from historically low rates.”
“We are back to equilibrium on product purchasing, with 45% opting for two years and 46% going for five years. Borrowers are clearly unconvinced about rate reductions despite the rest of the market factoring this in.”
