Homeowners in the start of the second quarter of the year were facing a warning of possible interest rate increases by the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). Such a decision could cost some owners thousands of pounds in lost savings if they failed to obtain a low rate through a remortgage. This pushed more homeowners at a higher level than the same time period last year to seek out remortgages by an increase of over 30%.

The data supplied by UK Finance revealed that there were 40,800 remortgages. Not only was it an increase over April 2017, but it was a marked increase over the 30,000 from March.

Another factor for the increase in homeowners seeking remortgages is being attributed to the large number of two-year fixed deals that were finishing at the start of the year.

Surprisingly landlords failed to respond with the same level of demand as homeowners to secure low interest rates with their buy to let properties. The number of remortgages to landlords decreased by 5.7% from the level recorded in April 2017.

The housing market welcomed back first time buyers in April with a 3.5% annual increase. The data identified the average UK first time home buyer as being 30 years old and having a gross household income of £42,000.

The warning of a hike in interest rates that pushed homeowners to seek remortgages has been forecasted to occur later in the year. However, despite the opportunity to have more time to shop for a new deal, homeowners are still expected to remain committed to saving money with a new deal and avoid paying more with their repayments than necessary. Demand for remortgages should remain strong as homeowners come to the end of their mortgage deals and seek to avoid higher interest rates in the months to come.