Nearly a third of Scottish homeowners would remortgage to save money

Meanwhile, gross mortgage lending by building societies and other mutual lenders is up by 29%

Latest research from Bank of Scotland suggests that more homeowners in Scotland are considering remortgaging this year and would do so for a monthly average saving of £135. Almost a third would consider remortgaging for any saving at all.

One in five homeowners in Scotland said that 2013 could be a good time to consider remortgaging and 30 per cent agree that they could find a better interest rate if they remortgaged their property.

However, the research showed 69 per cent of Scottish homeowners prefer to remain on their current mortgage deal, with over a third believing that they are on a low enough interest rate already or that the costs associated would be so high that they may not save money overall.

 Laurence Mann, Head of Mortgages at Bank of Scotland, commented: "Standard variable rate mortgages have been at historically low levels for quite some time, so it is no surprise that many homeowners haven't considered moving from them.  But with fixed rate mortgages falling, and some good deals expected on the market this year, now is the time for borrowers in Scotland to consider the benefits of remortgaging."

Meanwhile, gross mortgage lending by building societies and other mutual lenders was £2.5 billion in February, up by 29 per cent compared to the same month last year. Net mortgage lending (gross lending minus repayments) by mutuals was £515 million in February, up from £67 million in the same month last year.

"Building societies and other mutual lenders continued to show their commitment to UK homebuyers in February," said Paul Broadhead, Head of Mortgage Policy at the Building Societies Association. "Both gross and net mortgage lending rose in a market where lending by other institutions remained weak. We welcome the Government's renewed focus on the challenges faced by people looking to buy for the first time or move home, but it is a shame that the Help to Buy guarantee is needed.  If all lenders acted to help first-time buyers and other creditworthy borrowers with smaller deposits, as mutuals have done consistently over the last year and more, this intervention would not be needed. Around one in three mortgages from BSA members are already to first-time buyers, many at higher loan to value ratios."