Remortgaging becoming more popular

Published: December 06, 2007

Remortgaging has become increasingly popular in the last few years, it has been claimed.

Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at a UK mortgage broker, says that the average mortgage now only has a lifetime of three and a half years.

"The reason it is so low is that a lot of people do remortgage frequently," he explained

"Ideally about three months before they reach the end, they need to think about either remortgaging or taking a product transfer with their existing lender. It’s good to consider both options."

And there are a variety of reasons why people decide to remortgage.

"Quite a lot of people want to increase their borrowing, and quite a lot of people do when they come to the end of a deal to consolidate some debts, or to do some home improvements, or even to buy a car."

In November of this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that remortgaging and other lending remained buoyant in September. At £11.1 billion, remortgaging was higher than in August (£11 billion) and in September last year (£10 billion).