The latest report from Nationwide on UK house prices was released recently and there were two very different data results. For one, in comparison to the same month last year, September 2019 showed growth. It was slight, at 0.1%, but it was growth, which considering the turmoil and uncertainty in the political ring due to the Brexit deadline of 31 October near, any growth would likely be embraced as good news. The other data standout result was that while there was growth in an annual comparison, there was a decline in the month to month comparison with a decline of 0.2% from August to September.

Data from Nationwide for September revealed an unexpected decline in the average house price by 0.2% from August. There had been an expectation of the final summer boost due to homebuyers seeking to close up their property purchases before the Brexit deadline of 31 October drew nearer. The average house price is now £215,352, down from £216,096 reported by Nationwide in August.

London house prices have been on a mode of correction from the lofty house prices of years past. According to a new report from UBS, London’s property market has finally cleared out of the bubble risk territory for the very first time in four years. The capital’s real estate is still considered overvalued, and for many out of reach, but the years where the property values soared by 50% are long gone.

As the end of September is marked on the calendar, it seems almost frightening that the Brexit deadline will be days away. No longer will the deadline be within another month than the one we exist. For homeowners considering taking advantage of the current remortgage offers, the crunch time to complete a deal before offers change is now upon them. However, it may be the opportunities to secure a low interest rate, obtain a long term fixed rate, or release equity into cash while finding savings on repayments that will push homeowners into action versus the deadline of Brexit.

There are a large number of homeowners that will have their current mortgage deals end in the month of October. They are going to have many opportunities available to them in the remortgage lending market that were not present only months ago. Remortgage lending has become more competitive and lenders have also become more creative. There are many more remortgage products, many with low interest rates and some lenders are offering historically low rates. Fixed rate remortgages are being offered with terms in 10, 20, and 30 years.

In an attempt to better quantify the remortgage market, LMS has launched an index to report and analyze remortgaging data to those in the industry, experts interested in such data, and for the lay person since the report is made public. In a partnership with the Centre of Economics and Business Research (CEBR), the report will reveal the overall health of the remortgage market while tracking four strong indicators which are: the volume of remortgage approvals, the remortgage borrowing cost, homeowner equity value, and consumer sentiment.