The latest LMS remortgage snapshot for December 2024 has been released providing insight into the current condition of the remortgage market.
“All signs have been positive through the back end of 2024; the home-mover market has been buoyant, and remortgages bounced back towards the end of the year. However, has the new government stifled this positive outlook with their fiscal policies? Due to the changes with employer National Insurance (NI) and reversal of stamp duty, are we in store for another year of turmoil for the housing market?”
said LMS CEO Nick Chadbourne.
“This time last year, financial markets factored in six cuts to base rates – we only saw two, and even up to just a few weeks ago, the expectation was three in 2025. At the time of writing, there’s concern over stagflation in the UK, and many experts are now only pricing in one rate cut this year. I remain positive though; whilst economic policy is mostly inflationary, we still have the base rate above inflation, and if history is a guide, this means we are in line for cuts. So, the beginning of 2025 isn’t completely devoid of hope, with the 1.9m coming off fixed rates promising good deals to jump onto.”
- Instructions decreased by 29% in December
- 4% less remortgages were completed in December
- The overall cancellation rate decreased 17%
- Pipeline cases decreased by 7% month-on-month
Fast facts
- £281.90 average monthly payment increase for those who remortgaged in December
- 43% of borrowers increased their loan size in December
- 46% of those who remortgaged took out a 2-year fixed rate product, the most popular product last month
- 27% said their main aim when remortgaging was to lower monthly payments.
Remortgage loan sizes
Change in loan size reported by borrowers
- 43% increased their total loan size
- 36% saw no change in their total loan size
- 21% reduced their total loan size
Average loan increase post remortgage: £21,589
Average loan decrease post remortgage: £12,419
Monthly loan repayments
Change in monthly loan repayments reported by borrowers
- 59% increased their monthly remortgage repayments
- 11% saw no change in their monthly remortgage repayments
- 30% reduced their monthly remortgage payments
Average monthly repayment increase: £281.90
Average monthly repayment decrease: £290.02
Regional trends
The average remortgage loan amount in London was £364,213, while the average for the rest of the UK stood at £176,776 making remortgage loan amounts 106% higher in London than in the rest of the country.
The longest previous mortgage length was found in Wales at 74.76 months (6.23 years), while the shortest was in the East Midlands at 63.18 months (5.27 years), making the longest previous mortgage term 18% longer than the shortest.
Average remortgage amount: £210,992 Percentage Change: 2%
Average length of previous mortgages (months): 68.16 Percentage Change: -10%
| Region | Months | % Change from November |
| TOTAL | 68.16 | -10 |
| East Anglia | 66.89 | -9 |
| East Midlands | 63.18 | -20 |
| London | 72.93 | -6 |
| North East | 68.69 | -13 |
| North West | 69.9 | -10 |
| South East | 68.87 | -9 |
| South West | 67.72 | -11 |
| Wales | 74.76 | 5 |
| West Midlands | 65.05 | -16 |
| Yorkshire | 65.35 | -8 |
| Region | Average Remortgage Amount | % Change from November |
| TOTAL | £210,992.00 | 2 |
| East Anglia | £229,199.00 | -2 |
| East Midlands | £178,506.00 | 7 |
| London | £364,213.00 | 0 |
| North East | £135,528.00 | 3 |
| North West | £165,771.00 | 7 |
| Northern Ireland | £139,610.00 | 15 |
| Scotland | £146,741.00 | -2 |
| South East | £268,262.00 | 1 |
| South West | £203,199.00 | 3 |
| Wales | £150,902.00 | 5 |
| West Midlands | £174,062.00 | 7 |
| Yorkshire | £152,758.00 | 2 |
Borrower expectations for interest rate increases
- 49% within the next year
- 18% more than a year away
- 33% no expectation for a rate increase
Product Purchasing
- 46% 2-year fixed
- 4% 3-year fixed
- 44% 5-year fixed
- 1% 10-year fixed
- 1% Tracker
- 4% Other
Fixed-rate purchase motivation
- 71% I wanted the security of knowing how much I’ll be paying each month
- 14% I am worried about the economic climate and wanted to lock in a fixed rate
- 10% My broker recommended this
Primary goal when remortgaging
- 27% lower monthly payments
- 24% release equity on property/borrow more money
- 22% security over monthly payments/lock in a good deal now
This article was published by LMS as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
