Monthly gross remortgage lending rose by £576m in May to £3.9bn, according to latest figures from LMS.

This is up 17.1% on April’s £3.4bn reported by the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) last week.

The CML has also reported that total gross mortgage lending rose 20.8% in May to £14.7bn, from £12.2bn in April. As a result, remortgages now represent 27% of the market.

LMS estimates that the total number of remortgage loans in May increased by 12.7% to 27,087 compared with 24,041 in April. This figure, however, is down 10.8% on this time last year.

The average remortgage loan amount has risen by 3.9% over the past month and now stands at £145,754. This is the highest figure we have on record.

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said: “May marks yet another month of growth for the remortgage sector, with the total remortgage lending figure rising by 17.1% to £3.9bn. These heights have not been seen since October of last year. Despite a considerable increase in gross mortgage lending, remortgages continue to account for more than a quarter of the market.

“The average loan per person is at an all-time high, with an average of £19,325 being released to spend of paying off debts or to supplement income.

“We have seen a brilliant start to the year and we expect it to continue as the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) continues to encourage competitive rates for remortgage customers.”