The number of homeowners deciding to remortgage has hit a four year low, according to the LMS Remortgage Report. November saw 22,472 people remortgage; this being a fall of 23.6% from figures in October which had 29,399 homeowners remortgage. This is the lowest number of remortgage loans since the start of the credit crunch in 2008.
Similarly, the value of gross lending fell from October to November; with lending falling by £949 million to £3.1 billion. However, this is £114 million higher than lending in August, which experienced a 12 year slump in gross lending, since December 1999.
Despite the decline in the number of people remortgaging, the average loan amount rose by £373, to £138,573 per loan, which is the highest since December 2008.
Figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders also revealed that gross lending across the market has kept static at £12.9 billion; thus remortgaging, despite the drop in those taking out a loan in November, still counts for 24% of the total lending market.
According to Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, despite the fall in the number of people remortgaging in November, the total value is still higher than the trough of the market in August 2012, which is being attributed to a seasonal lull in homeowner activity.
