The volume of remortgage completions rose by 31% in July, according to the LMS Monthly Remortgage Snapshot.

Instruction volumes also increased, by 27% over the same timeframe.

The overall cancellation rate rose by 0.53% to 6% and pipeline cases increased by 14% in last month.

The average monthly payment decrease for those who remortgaged in July was £124.

A total of 49% of borrowers increased their loan size and 45% of those who remortgaged took out a 5-year fixed rate product, which was the most popular product length.

An estimated 32% of remortgagers’ primary aim when remortgaging was to release equity from their property.

The average loan increase post remortgage was £16,389, whilst the average loan decrease post remortgage was £8,144.

Nick Chadbourne, chief executive of LMS, said: “Though this increase in instructions was expected given the large volume of ERCs expiring in July, it’s encouraging that nearly a third more borrowers shopped around for a cheaper deal when the time came to remortgage, benefitting from the rate wars gripping the market as lenders fight to offer the most attractive deal.

“However, despite the healthy volumes, we would still expect activity to be higher, given that July is one of the biggest peaks in ERC expiries in the year.

“The data shows that many borrowers are in fact continuing to opt for a product transfer due to the competitive rates offered by their current lender.

“Many offers will come with significant arrangement fees, which might not make these deals as appealing in the long-term.

“Product transfers aren’t necessarily the best route either, even if a lower rate is on the table, as lenders often reach out months in advance and a better deal could be found if borrowers reviewed all available options closer to the time.

“Advisers must therefore be proactive in reaching out to clients to make them aware of all the options available and provide the best support during this time.”