As the UK housing market seems to be cooling off a bit, remortgages within the sector are continuing to be in high demand as more and more house owners are opting to remortgage instead of moving home.  They are seeing the advantages a remortgage can offer and understanding there are several attractive remortgage deals available.  In fact, the size of the average remortgage now sits at its highest level ever, according to research from LMS.  June recorded remortgages now sit at an average of more than £163,000.

One of the distinct advantages of a remortgage is the ability of house owners to borrow more cash on the value of their house and not increase the amount of their LTV or loan to value.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, or CML, remortgages are currently quite popular with total lending increasing last month to £3.7bn.  This represented an increase of 5% year on year.

For the month of June, the LMS determined the number of remortgages increased by almost 5% to more than 22,000.  Although this is a marked increase month on month, it is more than a 10% fall from the same period last year.

Remortgages are also carrying their weight overall within the housing market.  The share of remortgages equates to more than 20% of the total market.  This is a slight fall from the share of last year, but a 1% increase compared with last month.

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, commented on the current state of mortgage loans, saying: "While house purchase loans have bounced back and stabilised as MMR found its feet, remortgaging is still experiencing the brunt of this more acutely.”

Knee added: "We remain fully confident, however, that the second half of this year will see a flurry of activity in the remortgage market with many people already expressing their intentions in anticipation of the inevitable base rate interest rise."