September’s figures represent a 10.4% increase on the £3.5bn reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders for August and a 20.8% than this time last year.
The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending fell slightly to £16.2bn in September. As a result, remortgages now represent nearly a quarter (24%) of the market.
LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans in September increased by just 1.7% to 25,515, compared with 25,000 in August. This figure is also 5.4% higher than this time last year (24,200).
The average remortgage loan amount has also risen by 1.4% over the past month and now stands at £151,428. This figure is also 10.2% higher than this time last year.
Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “Following a slight knock in August, the remortgage sector appears to have leapt back on its feet – with remortgage lending growing by more than 10% during September.
“The market as a whole has been contracting slightly over the past three months, and as a result remortgages now account for a larger proportion of the market.
“The average remortgage loan amount is currently the highest it has ever been, according to our records which date back to 2005. This is indicative of the steady upward trend in the average house price that we have been witnessing in recent months.
“There are some fantastic deals out there, and as you can see even those with an existing mortgage are able to take advantage.”
