Over half of borrowers have predicted interest rates to rise within the next 12 months.
Loan values are on the rise as borrowers look to remortgage whilst rates remain low, LMS’ Remortgage Snapshot has found.
The average three-month rolling average loan amount is up from £175,918 to £178,515.
Over half (55%) of borrowers expect interest rates to rise within the next 12 months.
Nearly a third (27%) believe the cost of borrowing will not increase imminently according to the snapshot.
Nick Chadbourne (pictured), chief executive at LMS, said: “The three-month rolling average remortgage loan amount rose in October showing that borrowers are taking advantage of very competitive products and low interest rates while they can.
“The reason for the lower remortgage volumes could be explained by the timing of early repayment charges, resulting instead in a busy first week of November.
“Our forecasts expect Q4 remortgaging this year to follow 2018 figures.
“October also revealed that the North East is lagging behind the rest of the North when it comes to loan sizes.
“The North West and Yorkshire saw growth of 9.1% and 2.7% respectively, while the North East recorded a fall of 4.1%.
“The North has been driving the performance of the wider market for some time, so it will be interesting to see how the whole region performs as we move into 2020.”
The average remortgage loan amount in London and the South East was £279,258, with the national average currently at £136,175.
The longest previous mortgage length was found in the West Midlands at 58.69 months, and the shortest was in London at 50.86 month, showing a disparity of 14.3%.
The majority (97%) of those who remortgaged in October did so with a fixed rate product.
Purchases of 5-year fixes rose from 43% to 46%, and the increased popularity of 2-year fixes remained with purchases reaching 41%.
Growing popularity for 10-year fixes is yet to be seen with purchasing levels of these products down from 5% to 3%.
