According to LMS, nearly one in four (24%) remortgagors increased their loan amount by at least £10,000, an increase of 4% from April.
Almost a quarter (23%) used the money to fund home improvements and 8% used the money to pay off other debts. Just 2% of homeowners said they planned to use the money to help their children buy a property.
The number of customers remortgaging to access lower interest rates fell to 62%, down from 65% during the previous month.
Two-fifths of those remortgaging did so merely because they were coming to the end of their deal.
Less borrowers used a broker to remortgage in May. In April 2015 the number of customers seeking intermediary advice rose to a high of 44% but this fell back to 39% in May.
Bank of England figures, released yesterday, showed that lending for remortgages had risen above last year’s figure with £4,731m of lending last month compared to £4,497m in May 2014. House purchase lending dropped from £11,215m to £10,330 year-on-year.
Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “There is a general confidence in the stability of current interest rates, which may explain a more relaxed attitude towards paying off a remortgage loan and account for why almost a quarter of remortgagers chose to increase the size of their loan by more than £10,000.
“However, we urge caution that borrowers should not become complacent with regard to low interest rates, as news that fewer remortgagers are doing so for access to lower rates [62% in May vs 65% in April] suggests that competitive rates may not be as readily accessible as previously.