Adviser tech platform Twenty7tec found that yesterday’s Bank of England (BoE) interest rate rise once again created a spike in mortgage searches and activity.
According to Twenty7Tec’s findings, on 22nd June there were 873 fewer mortgages products available than one week previous.
There were 79,867 mortgage searches by advisers on the Twenty7tec platform, up 16% compared with an average Thursday, and 7.8% higher than the average for interest rate decision days over the past two years.
Purchase mortgage searches were at their lowest levels since October 2022.
There were 32,458 purchase mortgage searches yesterday, down 7.6% compared with the average previous interest rate decision days in the past two years.
Additionally, there were 14,050 buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage searches on the platform, up 4.1% on an average Thursday but down 5.7% compared with the average for interest rate decision days in the past two years.
James Tucker, founder and CEO of Twenty7tec, said: “Every day this week has been busier than the corresponding day last week.
“That’s due, in part, to the fact that this interest rate rise appears to have been so broadly baked in that the market wasn’t just expecting it, but had been acting ahead of time to secure mortgages at lower rates.”
“Today is going to be a major day of activity for lenders and platforms like ours as we update hundreds and maybe even thousands of mortgage products to be at the latest rates.
“So, we’d expect increased levels of activity to continue into today and through Monday at least.”
He added: “Monday and Tuesday this week were two of the 12 busiest ever days for mortgage searches as people sought rates ahead of the announcement.
“As of yesterday, there are 800 fewer mortgage products on our system than there were a week ago, which means more requests attempting to access fewer products and the kind of potential bottleneck we last saw in the stamp duty holiday period of 2021.
“The past 24 hours have undoubtedly been a busy one for customers and mortgage advisers alike, as they race to find the most suitable deal.
“And that’s not forgetting the business of the lenders who over the past 24 hours have been making adjustments in line with the new rate.”
Tucker concluded: “We’re continuing to work hard to give house buyers and advisers the best information they can have during this time.
“We’ve already seen hundreds of products change in the market over the past week and are expecting more to be changed today and on Monday in light of the new rate announcement.”
