LMS, the UK’s leading conveyancer and panel management specialist, has today released its monthly remortgage snapshot.
This month’s update showed:
- Instructions decreased by 17% in September
- 7% more remortgages were completed in September
- The overall cancellation rate increased by 20%
- Pipeline cases decreased by 8% month-on-month
- Average monthly payment increase for those who remortgaged in September – £185.62
- 43% of borrowers increased their loan size in September
- 42% of those who remortgaged took out a 2-year fixed rate product, the most popular product in September
Nick Chadbourne, CEO, LMS commented:
“Unusually for this time of year, we have seen instruction levels drop. This is the first time we’ve seen this happen at the end of Q3 since we started this assessment of the market, and remo activity is down 10% year on year. All of this goes to show that, given the current economic environment, it is only those borrowers who absolutely need to remortgage who are doing so. Those who keep an eye on products and remortgage because they want to are simply not doing so because they can afford to wait for rates to drop.
As we head into Q4, we are expecting the highest number of ERC expiries on record – roughly 800,000 people will need to remortgage. That said, we are expecting the market to remain depressed as a result of affordability tests – while stress testing is no longer a regulatory requirement, naturally lenders are still thoroughly assessing risk and taking on fewer customers. That means that we will see more product transfers as borrowers look to avoid having to meet new affordability criteria, at least until the start of 2024.”
Read full report here: Report-Sept23-v1
This article was submitted to be 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.
