Remortgage instructions increased again for the third week in a row, however they remain down by 23 per cent for the month of April compared to March, the latest figures from LMS reveal.

The conveyancing firm says the overall monthly drop is the result of a steep fall at the beginning of last month after lockdown measures were introduced.

Instructions then increased by 11.8 per cent between the week commencing April 20 and the week commencing April 27.

This followed an increase of 12.8 per cent the previous week.

Remortgage completions were almost flat through April, down by just 1 per cent on March.

Completions typically spike on the first working day of each month as many fixed-rate terms expire.

May 1 completions were 63.7 per cent higher than April 1 and 74 per cent higher than March 2.

They were also 8 per cent higher than a year ago.

There was a 31 per cent increase in the number of cancelled remortgage transactions from March to April and a 29 per cent increase compared to a year ago.

The overall percentage of cancellations in April was 7.11 per cent.

LMS chief executive Nick Chadbourne says: “The remortgage market had a flying start to May, with a sizeable increase in completions across the first two working days of the month. 

“Performance far exceeded both March and April, which clearly shows the market is working well.

“There’s definitely still work to be done on the processing of more complex cases around witnessing documents and validating ID. 

“This is something we need the whole industry to collaborate on if we are to find solutions that ensure all customers are serviced, but overall there are hugely encouraging indications that the industry is coping incredibly well.

“Net numbers are set to be comparable with 2019, and it’s pleasing to see the continuation of normal seasonal trends. 

“This is such a positive sign after the initial shock of lockdown, and small variations can be expected in the remortgage market, so slight falls in some areas aren’t cause for alarm. 

“Cancellation rates need to be monitored but at this stage are not materially impacting the overall market.”