The proportion of remortgage borrowers who are considering taking a gamble on a variable or tracker rate jumped from 14% in July to 21% in September, new analysis by Moneyfacts has found.

The site found that more than one in five remortgage borrowers looked at variable or tracker mortgages in September as part of their product comparison, suggesting that homeowners are trying to find alternatives to high fixed rates.

Moneyfacts says the share of remortgage borrowers looking at variable deals typically sits around 13-14%.

But the reverse was true for first-time buyers, with the proportion considering variable or tracker mortgages falling sharply from 31% in July to 12% in September.

Among homemovers, the proportion increased slightly from 6% to 7% over the same period.

Moneyfacts says borrowers coming off low fixed rates could face a substantial increase in monthly repayments.

Its calculations show a borrower with a £250,000 mortgage over 25 years who took a five-year fix at 2.38% in 2021 would have been paying around £1,106 a month.

Moving onto the current average two-year fixed rate of 5.93% would increase payments to around £1,600 a month.

By comparison, the same borrower taking an average tracker rate of 4.54% would initially pay around £1,395 a month, a saving of more than £200 compared to the average two-year fix.

However, tracker payments could rise if the Bank of England raises the base rate.

Moneyfactscompare.co.uk head of consumer finance Adam French says: “Higher rates are changing borrower behaviour, more remortgage borrowers considering a variable or tracker mortgage in September.

He says the share of remortgage borrowers looking at variable deals typically sits around 13-14%, so September’s figure of 21% was a notable increase.

“It shows remortgage borrowers are increasingly prepared to take on some interest rate risk in return for keeping their initial mortgage costs down.

“The calculation is different for remortgage borrowers facing a big jump in their monthly payments.

“They may be more willing to accept some uncertainty if it gives them a chance to avoid the full extent of that payment shock.

“But a lower initial payment should not be confused with a guaranteed saving over the life of the mortgage and borrowers need to be confident they can still afford the loan if rates move higher.”