Expat re-mortgaging hits record levels  

Re-mortgaging has reached record levels and now accounts for 37.5% of all mortgages conducted according to recent research.

The proportion of expat re-mortgages has risen by nearly 13% over the last 12 months, as homeowners are increasingly switching mortgage companies to find more attractive rates.

The promise of increased interest rates has no doubt helped drive demand for re-mortgaging. More and more expats are re-mortgaging to save money but also raise capital which is locked in their properties.

Many expat homeowners and landlords who have been saddled with lenders on less than competitive interest rates, or stuck on higher standard variable rates are switching to more attractive fixed term deals. Rising property prices have also had an impact on re-mortgage growth, especially in the South East of the UK.

It is expected the demand for re-mortgaging will continue to rise in 2018, especially if there are further rate rises. There is likely to be a shift towards more consumers considering fixed rate deals as the risk of rate rises remain for the time being. Expat buy-to-let re-mortgaging has also risen and now represents 12.8% of all mortgages, up by 6% year on year.

As a general overview, if you are an expat and not locked into a penalty mortgage deal good advice would be to review it with a view to saving money.

Can we assist?

If you would like a new or re-mortgage, please do make contact and one of our fully trained advisers will be happy to help.