The number of remortgage approvals during the first half of the year has been strong and housing experts expect the same type of activity to continue as the year progresses. Starting in January, the year got off to an excellent start as almost 50,000 remortgages were obtained. This was not just encouraging for the remainder of the year, but set a high bar for the market in general. January level of remortgage has not been seen in more than eight years. Low interest rates and lender competition are two areas which are being noted as reasons for the strong interest in remortgage.

The monthly meeting of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee was held last Thursday. Results of the meeting did not alter from what was forecasted over the last thirty days. Interest rates were held at the current level of 0.5% after a vote of 6-3 in favor to leave the standard base rate unchanged. Although the current level of inflation sits above the goal of 2%, housing experts were not expecting a rate hike at this time. House sales did increase in May on figures from April.

Timing is always important when obtaining mortgage lending. Whether securing lending for a house purchase in the form of an original loan or a remortgage on an existing property, timing is crucial and can mean the difference between paying more or less each month for the monthly mortgage repayment. Timing is quite a heavily discussed topic these days in regard to those homeowners possibly in search of a remortgage in the coming weeks.

Homeowners have been turning up to the lending market to take advantage of the opportunity to get a new deal. Remortgaging increased with the warnings that called for homeowners to shop for a lower interest rate before the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased the rate. It had been expected that the rate would be changed in the spring, but now that has been pushed back to perhaps autumn of 2018.

It is the first day of summer and no doubt there are likely many homeowners that will complete their process of obtaining a remortgage on this very day. Remortgages have been in demand by homeowners as they seek to avoid any rising interest rates that could occur in the coming years. Because of the threat of rising interest rates homeowners are expected to continue showing strong demand for remortgages throughout the summer of 2018.

Based on housing data from the month of May, the market appears to remain subdued for the time being. Aside from the majority of the data remaining flat, there was one area which did indicate improvement - housing supply. The number of homes placed on the market for sale increased in May to reach a positive level for the first time since 2016, according to figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. This is encouraging for estate agents who are looking to improve their supply offered for sale.