In a March 2017 article, FinancialReporter.co.uk has published the result of a survey of mortgage intermediaries that revealed the mortgage trends of 2016.

The survey was conducted with 201 mortgage brokers and other intermediaries. Their answers revealed that 30% of all mortgages in the last quarter of 2016 were remortgages, which is 4% up on the same period in 2015. Most remortgages (87%) were to save money by switching to mortgages with lower interest rates. Just 22% of remortgage were used to release equity, typically for home improvements.

A separate FinancialReporter.co.uk article from the same month reveals that the number of people who consulted a broker to arrange a remortgage deal increased in 2016, with nearly 70% preferring to use a broker.

Following the raising of stamp duty, buy-to-let commercial mortgages fell in the second quarter of 2016, but recovered in the last quarter when they represented 23% of all mortgages.

Although there was a small decrease of 2% in first-time buyers, they still represented 18% of all mortgages in the last quarter of 2016.

Fixed rate mortgages were the most popular and accounted for 83% of mortgages, while tracker mortgages accounted for just 14% of the total. There were more two-year fixed-rate mortgages than longer term ones.

Interest only mortgages have declined in recent years, and made up less than 20% of mortgages in 2016.

Overall, mortgage activity increased in 2016. Many of the mortgage trends of 2016 will probably continue in 2017, but with economic uncertainty following Brexit, it is difficult to predict the how the mortgage market will perform this year.