Remortgaging Homeowners Took Advantage of Low Interest Rates in October
The low interest rates being offered by lenders are pulling in homeowners to remortgage. According to the latest data released by UK Finance, in October 37,769 homeowners remortgaged, which is 12.7% more than October of last year. In the month to month comparison, there was a 10.6% increase over the 34,157 that remortgaged in September. The value of remortgage approvals increased by 17.8% compared to October 2018 at a total of £7.3 billion.
A large number of homeowners were due to have their mortgage terms end in October and November and that is one of the factors that has pushed remortgage lenders into a competitive mode. In an effort to gain the attention of those homeowners needing a remortgage deal, lenders are putting out better and better remortgage products to draw in borrowers over their competition. This is creating opportunities and benefits for those homeowners due to have their mortgage deal end and for those that have had their term end without a remortgage and have been moved to their lender’s standard variable rate (SVR).
According to experts, for those homeowners that mortgaged two or more years ago and have recently had their mortgage term end, a SVR could be a shock to the household budget. Many current SVR levels are at double or more the interest rate level that the homeowners would have been used to paying. Rather than pay more than necessary on repayments, a remortgage could offer savings and in some cases that savings could be substantial.
Shopping online is recommended by experts as an easy and quick way to see what savings are available in remortgages. A few questions answered online and the homeowner will have a quote to consider and to compare with other quote offers. Remortgage brokers are a suggested consideration, as well. They deal with numerous lenders and often have exclusive remortgage deals that the lenders don’t offer directly to borrowers.
It is reported that fixed rate remortgages are the most popular choice for homeowners, but many are also turning to equity cash release deals as well.