Rising interest rates have prompted a sharp increase in the number of mortgage applications in the first quarter of this year, but most are for people remortgaging property they already own.

In the first three months of the year, banks processed over 191,000 mortgage applications, an increase of 37% on the same period in 2021, according to figures from mortgage data network HDN.

Of the applications, almost 72,000 were to buy a house, despite the shortage of suitable properties. The number of people remortgaging, either to invest in their home or to take advantage of lower rates, was up over 75% year on year.

Some 10% of the requests were made by people who wanted to pay for energy saving measures in their homes, HDN said.

According to mortgage comparison website Geld.nl, interest rates have risen by one percentage point since January.

That means a traditional mortgage with an NHG guarantee and a fixed interest period of 20 years will be liable for 2.53% interest, compared with 1.44% in January, spokeswoman Amanda Bulthuis said.