Scramble to remortgage as interest rates look set to rise from record lows
The mortgage market is heating up, according to new figures, as rock-bottom rates and the prospect of an interest rate rise fuel extra home buying and remortgaging.
Net lending secured on dwellings jumped to £2.6bn in June from £2.4bn in May, the highest figure since July 2008, the Bank of England said yesterday.
The number of homeowners opting to remortgage reached 36,620 in June, the most since February 2011. It comes as the prospect of higher interest rates from the Bank becomes clearer. Banks are also engaged in a mortgage price war.
Post Office Money is currently offering a two-year fixed mortgage at 1.05 per cent, according to comparison site moneysupermarket.com.
HSBC grabbed headlines last year when it introduced its lowest ever two-year mortgage rate of 0.99 per cent.