The mortgage lending market has been gaining strength throughout the summer and is still on the rebound, however remortgage lending is surprisingly down.  It was expected that remortgage demand would show a strong growth that would continue throughout the first interest rate increase by the Bank of England.  Warnings have been issued that the interest rate will likely see the first hike in the beginning of the new year, if not sooner.

According to the CML, the average mortgage interest rate increased in July to 3.2%.  Lenders are expected to push up their interest rate offerings before the Bank actually makes a change.  Therefore, those seeking a remortgage early in the “game” of beating the increases and saving money will find the best offers available. 

Some experts believe that despite the low interest rates offered by lenders on remortgages, the new mortgage market review requirements could be keeping homeowners away.  The new guidelines require a homeowner to share more intimate details about their spending and saving habits to ensure they are capable of affording a loan – even if there is an increase in the interest rate.  The process of obtaining a remortgage not only requires more information but more time for completion, therefore plenty of time should be given to gain approval before the actual new deal is required and before the interest rates are increased.

The ability to secure a fixed rate with the historically low levels offered with remortgage deals would be worth the effort to seek out if approval could be gained.  For complicated remortgage needs a remortgage broker expert could prove beneficial, as they will know which lenders would be willing to deal with specific or unique needs.  Waiting on the fence until the demand grows stronger could put a homeowner in the queue, which could end up causing them to lose out on the best deals and the benefit of a more patient remortgaging process.