More data from the year 2016 regarding the UK housing market is flowing out now almost daily, and one thing is certain. Mortgage lending had an especially strong year with remortgage activity leading the way. More home owners took advantage of the benefits of a remortgage during the year and equaled the number set in the year 2009. The latest round of data has now created anticipation for the coming year and has many experts forecasting a year similar to the last.

More than half of all remortgages obtained during the course of last year involved accessing home equity and then using that equity to fund projects like new home renovations, paying off old debt, and to assist their children in various ways.

Record low interest rates led the charge to the remortgage table, where home owners discovered deals which were loaded with not only drop bottom low interest rates, but low administration fees as well.

This was occurring before the month of August as well. After that the flood gates opened. The Bank of England dropped the base rate from 0.5% to 0.25%. This created quite a stir and led another wave of home owners to seek a remortgage. Many who were on the fence chose to act during this time.

Overall, the total number of those remortgaging stopped just short of 385,000. This represented an increase of 15% from the previous year.

Doug Crawford, CEO of My Home Move, commented on the latest data, saying: “This overall increase in borrowing suggests that homeowners are taking advantage of the cheap remortgage deals which have been around for the past few years, and thanks to the Bank of England base rate cut in August, will remain so for months to come.”

Crawford added: “With such low interest rates, using a mortgage to borrow money can be a smart move. Our research has revealed that 57% of cases from 2016 were remortgaging to raise capital, compared to pound-for-pound borrowing, suggesting people were looking to consolidate debt, release equity to fund home improvements or to pay their children’s university tuition fees or first-time buyer deposit, as the Bank of Mum and Dad was raided again.”