Purchase mortgage searches were down 5.4% in September 2023 compared with August 2023, according to the latest findings from Twenty7tec’s mortgage market activity report for September.
September was the quietest month so far in 2023, recording 1,338,047 searches in total compared to 1,377,393 in August.
Remortgage searches were also down 0.2%, while buy-to-let (BTL) mortgage searches were down 2.1% nationwide throughout the month.
Searches by first-time buyers were down 6.2% nationally in September, as 2-year fixed mortgages accounted for 47.4% of all fixed product searches.
September also saw 3-year to 5-year fixed mortgages account for 32.4% of all product searches, with 5-year to 10-year fixed mortgages accounting for 20.2%.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said: “For the first time in five years, we saw lower overall volumes of mortgage searches in September than we did in August.
“Perhaps that’s because people are hoping that rates have now peaked and that November’s Bank of England decision will bring stable news for the mortgage market?
“Setting aside December performance (the quietest month every year), September 2023 was the quietest month for mortgage searches since October 2021, and the quietest month for remortgages since June 2022.
“It was also the lowest month for total first-time buyer searches since November 2020.”
He continued: “During September 2023, almost half of all fixed mortgage searches were for terms of two years and under as buyers looked to shorten the effects of current rates in the hope of lower rates in the medium term.
“Whilst we saw a contraction in total searches for property valued below £500k, we saw 1.2% growth in mortgage searches for those above £500k, especially those valued at more than £1m (2.8%).
“The interest rate decision prompted a spike in green mortgage searches but, unusually, it was driven by purchase mortgage searches rather than buy-to-let green mortgage searches.”
