Further advance remortgages drop in popularity

This marks a shift in behaviour from recent months and is also a drop 6% from April last year.

The proportion of remortgages that included a further advance fell from 28% in March to 24% in April, research from LMS suggests.

This marks a shift in behaviour from recent months and is also a drop 6% from April last year.

The number increasing the size of their loan by more than £10,000 has also fallen - to 16% in April, from 22% in March.

In contrast, the monthly survey from LMS found a spike in the number of homeowners who remortgaged to reduce their monthly payments.

Almost two fifths of remortgagors cut their monthly payment by up to £500, 7% more than the number who did so in March.

This is the highest percentage since June 2015, when 40% of remortgagors reduced their payments by up to £500.

Around 3% who remortgaged did so to reduce their monthly payments by more than £500.

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “The outlook remains bright for remortgaging but there has been a slight shift in the attitudes of why people are doing so.

“Remortgagors in April were more interested in getting the most cost-effective deal to reduce their monthly payments and boost their spending power elsewhere, rather than using it as a tool for debt reduction or increasing the size of their loan: an indication household finances are more robust and a ray of hope in the face of predicted economic slowdown as the country nears the EU referendum.

“Following the vote, the Bank of England is likely to keep rates on hold – or even lower them – but speculation that a potential Brexit would cause mortgage costs to rise, should encourage prudent homeowners to cement their finances against uncertainty and reap the benefits by locking in to a low mortgage rate.”