Mohammad Jamei, CML senior economist, commented that “widely voiced fears in recent months about the housing market have proved to be wide of the mark”.

The growth in borrowing is being put down to a number of factors, including the Bank of England’s base rate cut, which has led to increasing interest in remortgages.

The CML figures showed a fall of 14% in mortgage borrowing in July, while remortgages increased by 7% on June’s figures. 

Commenting on the increase in remortgaging, Paul Smee, director general of the CML, said at the time that “borrowers seem keen to take advantage of the wide range of competitive deals in the market and, following the base rate cut in August, this is likely to continue”.

Mohammad at the CML also noted that the recovery in borrowing is “likely to be down to a number of different factors, including the Bank of England’s monetary stimulus and the introduction of the Term Funding Scheme in August”.

Some economists feared that the July figures indicated the beginning of a post-Brexit downturn. Speaking to the Telegraph, Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, predicted that market activity was likely to continue slowing down, estimating a dip in house prices by around 3 to 5% in 2017.

Following these latest figures, however, some optimism has returned to the market. John Eastgate, director of sales and marketing at OneSavings Bank, said: “…Market activity is slowly returning to its former health, as concerns over political and economic instability are pushed to one side by more borrowers unwilling to wait indefinitely.”

The summer period is arguably a traditionally quiet one for the housing market, and so many analysts believe that the September and October figures will provide a more accurate gauge of the housing market.

While the market has remained unexpectedly resilient – with house prices continuing to increase, albeit at a slower rate – any optimism about the long-term prospects for the UK economy may be misplaced, warns Rupert Pennant-Rea, the former Bank of England deputy governor. Speaking to the FT, he argued that the sharp drop in the value of the pound means that “UK assets are worth less than they used to be”.

Indeed, the FT noted in a recent report that Brexit has not yet happened. Nonetheless, at present remortgages continue to increase in popularity and are helping to bolster the mortgage market. Speed can often be of the essence for borrowers in such instances, and new products are continually coming to the market to facilitate speedier transactions.

Title insurance can help to make a quick decision on a remortgage application. At Titlesolv we possess a broad range of web-based services to increase the speed of applications; providing instant legal indemnity quotes and immediate cover.

Titlesolv is the trading name of London & European Title Insurance Services Ltd authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.