However, the number of mortgage approvals granted in January were less robust – at 44,657 they were 2.5% lower than the same month in 2016 but 2.5% higher than a month earlier.
Eric Leenders, BBA managing director for retail banking said: “The new year saw homeowners make the most of historically low interest rates by taking advantage of competitive remortgage offers. Nearly 29, 000 of these deals were approved last month – 16% higher than January last year.”
House purchase lending continued to make up the bulk of mortgage lending and approvals in January, but remortgage borrowing has demonstrated strong growth since January last year, although dipping slightly on December’s figures.
The value of remortgage approvals in January totalled £5.2bn compared with £5.3bn in December and £4.7bn a month earlier. Meanwhile, the number of approvals totalled 82,646, up significantly on a year earlier when they reached 75,016.
The value of the average mortgage approval now stands at £182,500, dropping from £184,900 a month earlier but up on the £180,000 recorded in January 2016.
