The first quarter of 2013 saw a new high in remortgaging activity, with more landlords trying to raise enough capital to expand their portfolios and take advantage of higher yields.
Remortgaging accounted for 69% of all buy to let transactions in the last quarter, up from 43% in the last quarter of 2012.
High yields are encouraging many landlords to remortgage.
Another factor creating the increase may be the Funding for Lending Scheme, which is now beginning to improve mortgage availability by encouraging lenders to ease criteria and drop rates.
And on-going demands from Clydsdale Bank, RBS Group and Irish banks for landlords to refinance elsewhere have also contributed to the sharp increase in remortgaging.
Average property values for buy to let transactions increased over the course of the year on residential stock. This is particularly to do with the wider rise in house prices but also because investors are choosing to purchase property in the South East and other more expensive areas The average property values on transactions are over a 30% higher than they were a year ago.