Nearly one fifth of home loan borrowers switched product or re-mortgaged in 2018
Some 1.6 million home-owners switched to a new loan deal with their existing provider or took out a mortgage with another lender in 2018, according to figures from trade association UK Finance.
Within that total, 1.2 million home-owners switched product with their existing provider.
These product transfers are transactions where the borrower moves to a new deal rate with the same lender, without changing any other terms of the mortgage which would trigger a new regulated mortgage contract (RMC).
Today’s Mortgage Product Transfer update for Q4 2018 reveals that almost one in five of all homeowner mortgages in 2018 were product transfers or remortgages. https://t.co/L8vyDpkDS1pic.twitter.com/eDLDkBNyCy
— UK Finance (@UKFtweets) March 5, 2019
Meanwhile, 476,900 new home-owner re-mortgages were completed in 2018.
Some of these would have been with borrowers’ existing lenders but the terms would have changed; for example, in cases where home-owners were looking to borrow more money.
The 1.6 million total equates to nearly one fifth of the nine million home-owner mortgages in the UK.
Jackie Bennett, director of mortgages at UK Finance, said: “This shows a high level of customer engagement, as borrowers continue to take advantage of a competitive marketplace to switch to a product that best suits their needs.
“For those who need help in finding the right product, support is widely available through both direct channels and intermediaries, with more than half of borrowers taking advice for their new deal.”
Following the release today of our latest Mortgage Product Transfers update, Director of Mortgages Jackie Bennett has blogged on how switching to a new mortgage deal with your existing lender has become more accessible. https://t.co/mzu9VL9OcBpic.twitter.com/C53Dc5uBcW
— UK Finance (@UKFtweets) March 5, 2019
Jonathan Harris, director of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, said: “With many lenders offering competitive rates on product transfers, and being more pro-active about getting in touch with customers to encourage them to switch, many borrowers are getting a good deal by sticking with their existing lender.
“But it is always worth checking whether there is a better option out there.”
Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said: “Re-mortgaging numbers are strong because people are not moving.
“These figures bear out what we have seen in the property market – that many home-owners are deciding to stay put and re-mortgage or opt for a product transfer rather than taking on new debt, given the current political and economic uncertainty.”
