Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Remortgage sales hit 92,558 in Q4 2021, marking the highest level of activity since before the pandemic according to analysis from digital lender Freedom Finance.
The research shows that remortgage sales outnumbered all other types of home loans for the first time since the third quarter of 2020.
Separately, sales of mortgages for first-time buyers (112,005) and house mover mortgages (133,890) – which both reached a five-year peak in Q2 2021 – slumped in the fourth quarter to 89,542 and 75,726, respectively.
First-time buyer and house mover mortgages reached a five-year peak in Q2 2021 but fell in Q4 to 89,542 and 75,726 respectively.
Freedom Finance Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Fisher said “Since late-2020 mortgage sales for first-time buyers and home-movers rocketed due to pent-up demand from the first lockdown combined with stamp duty cuts, the ability for many households to save more money and a change in working habits driving a race for space.”
“The latest data indicates that the housing market started to return to pre-pandemic trends in the final quarter of 2021 with remortgage sales outnumbering all other types of home loan.”
“The gloomy economic environment and the consecutive rate rises from the Bank of England are only likely to drive further demand in the remortgage market as borrowers look to lock into fixed-rate loans either from variable-rate mortgages or as their existing deals come to a close.”
“The second charge mortgage market is also seeing rapid growth this year, with the value of new business reaching £127m in April 2022, marking a 54% increase compared to the year prior. Second charge mortgages and remortgaging could therefore be an increasingly favourable method of clearing or reducing existing debts for homeowners looking to capitalise on the house price boom from the pandemic and get through the cost-of-living crisis.”
