Purchases 'overtake remortgages'

Date:Friday 19th June 2009
Author: Susanna Kavka

Home loans taken out for property purchases have overtaken remortgages for the first time since 2007, it has been claimed.

According to the John Charcol Index, mortgages taken out for purchases represented 53.4 per cent of all home loans in May this year.

This compared with an average of 25 per cent over the course of last year.

In addition, the proportion of mortgage enquiries for purchases was up to 59.7 per cent in May, compared with 49 per cent in April.

Responding to the figures, Ray Boulger of John Charcol said: "This suggests that as these enquiries translate into actual business the proportion of purchases in our business written will continue to rise over the next few months."

He added that it seems as though the mortgage market is continuing to show signs of recovery.

Recently, moneysupermarket.com suggested that while the interest rates charged on fixed-rate mortgages are rising, there are still good mortgage deals to be found.