Monthly gross remortgage lending increased by £61 million in December, to £4.16 billion, according to LMS.

This is a monthly rise of 1.5% on November’s £4.1 billion reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) and 43.5% higher than December 2012.

The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending held steady at £17.0bn in December. As a result, remortgages represents 24% of the total market.

LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans remained relatively constant in December, only dropping by 0.1% to 27,462, compared with 27,500 in November. However, this figure is up by 25.4% from this time last year, when there were only 21,900 remortgage customers recorded.

The average remortgage loan amount has seen a marginal increase (by 0.5%) over the past month and now stands at £151,525. This figure is however 7.8% higher than December 2012.

Andy Knee, Chief Executive of LMS, said: “The past 12 months has seen a remarkable upswing in the remortgage market. While the overall mortgage marketplace remained steady in December, remortgaging has leapfrogged ahead with sustained positive growth.

“Remortgage lending is now 44% higher than the same time last year and has again resisted a seasonal dip by rising 1.5% from November.

“Even during the hectic festive season, customers continued to be coaxed in by the competitive rates on offer. These enticing deals have led to borrowers remortgaging at the most frequent rate for over four years.

“Our latest customer survey suggests that nearly four in ten (39%) were able to reduce their monthly payments in December, some by as much as £500.

“Looking ahead into 2014, all the signposts are pointing upwards with lending levels likely to rise in the immediate future. However slightly further down the line we may see this level out somewhat, as new regulations come into full effect in the spring.”