In the week before the Bank of England (BoE) rate decision, there were 400,610 mortgage searches recorded, making it the second busiest pre-decision week in the past year, according to data from Twenty7tec.
After the Bank confirmed it was holding the rate at 4.25%, mortgage searches dropped by 13.7% in the 24 hours that followed.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said: “There was a lot of talk that the market wasn’t expecting a rate cut.
“But what’s interesting is how that anticipation shaped borrower behaviour – activity spiked early in the week, then dropped by 13.7% on the day of the decision itself, compared to the prior three-day average.
“It’s clear that many consumers were doing their homework ahead of the announcement – a pattern we’ve seen more regularly as buyers look to stay one step ahead of potential market shifts.”
Standard residential searches dropped from 66,491 on 16th June to 55,694 on 19th June, a fall of 16.2%.
Specialist mortgages also saw a dip, with buy-to-let (BTL) searches dropping from 13,899 on 17th June to 12,341 on 19th June.
BTL and homebuyer scheme categories both recorded noticeable decreases in activity.
Reilly added: “Buyers are becoming increasingly savvy – they’re planning ahead, tracking rate decisions, and researching mortgage options earlier than ever.
“For brokers, having access to real-time insights and tools that streamline the entire mortgage journey – from search to submission – is absolutely vital.
“That’s exactly what our platform is designed for. Whether it’s through our sourcing solution, which now includes later life lending, and provides the ability for advisers to instantly submit application submissions to top lenders or our own CRM solution, we help advisers respond quickly and confidently in a fast-moving market.”
