Nationwide has lowered the deposit required for some of its most competitive remortaging deals, from 40% to 30%.
From today, all the lender’s existing 60% loan-to-value (LTV) fixed and tracker remortgage loans are available at up to 70%.
Since the onset of the credit crisis, remortgaging activity has been in a steady decline as lower interest rates and impaired credit histories meant borrowers coming to the end of fixed-rate deals mostly opted for lenders’ relatively attractive standard variable rates (SVRs).
According to Bank of England figures, December approvals for remortgaging were higher than in November at 27,276 but remained below the previous six-month average of 28,427.
However, recent rises in SVRs, notably in the building society sector, could hot-up competition.
In the meantime, research from Moneyfacts indicates that some borrowers on SVRs may have paid more than double for the same mortgage than if they had moved to a different lender.
With the average SVR now at 4.6%, the difference between the cheapest and most expensive lender for a typical £150,000 mortgage stands at £5,670, Moneyfacts calculates.
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