More homeowners are choosing to refinance rather than move as rising costs and stretched affordability reshape the housing market, latest data from mortgage technology firm Twenty7tec suggests.
In July mortgage advisers carried out 885,774 remortgage searches compared with 938,060 purchase searches , meaning remortgage activity reached 94% of purchase volumes, up from 75.4% in the same month last year.
The gap between the two was the narrowest on record at just 52,000 cases.
The trend marks a sharp shift from 2021, when remortgaging accounted for only 56% of purchase volumes.
BUSY REMO MARKET
By mid-2025, remortgage cases had already hit 5.96 million, putting advisers on track for one of the busiest years for refinancing in recent history.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, says: “Rising costs, rate uncertainty and stretched affordability are all reshaping homeowner behaviour – and the data shows it.
“Homeowners are increasingly choosing to stay put and refinance rather than take on the financial and logistical challenges of moving.”
HARDER TO UPSIZE
Higher mortgage rates have made upsizing harder, particularly for those who locked in ultra-low deals in recent years.
Many owners are choosing instead to reinvest in their current properties or focus on securing rate certainty, reducing monthly payments or releasing equity.
Remortgage activity has risen for three consecutive years and is now 290,000 searches higher than in 2021, with five months of 2025 still to go.
Reilly adds: “The remortgage market is on the up. In a market where more people are staying put, the winners will be those who use data intelligently to keep the customers they have already won.”
