In September, the market showed a slight decrease in purchase mortgage searches, which dipped by 0.1%, data from Twenty7tec has revealed.
As part of its mortgage market statistics for the month of September, the tech provider revealed that remortgage searches witnessed a significant rise, up by 11.9%.
Buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages also saw notable activity, with purchase mortgage searches for BTL rising by 8.4% and remortgage searches up by 17.5%.
The residential market experienced mixed results, with purchase mortgage searches down 0.8%, while remortgage searches increased by 10.7%.
First-time buyer searches dropped by 1.0%, indicating a slight cooling in this segment of the market.
When compared to September 2023, however, the data paints a much different picture.
Purchase mortgage searches rose dramatically, up by 27.97%, highlighting strong demand.
Remortgage searches also saw a healthy rise of 11.03%.
BTL mortgage searches were notably strong year-on-year, with purchase searches up 24.8% and remortgage searches increasing by 17.4%.
Residential mortgage activity surged as well, with purchase searches rising by 30.74% and remortgage searches growing by 8.84%.
In contrast to the month-on-month trend, first-time buyer searches increased by 12.52% compared to September 2023, showing stronger activity from this group over the longer term.
The data also provided insight into the most popular types of mortgage products searched for in September 2024.
2-year fixed mortgages accounted for 41.71% of all fixed product searches, a decline from 47.37% in September 2023.
In contrast, there was increased interest in longer-term fixed products. 3- to 5-year fixed mortgages accounted for 34.56% of searches, up from 32.38% the previous year, and 5- to 10-year fixed mortgages made up 23.72% of searches, compared to 20.25% in September 2023.
Nathan Reilly (pictured), director at Twenty7tec, said “Year on year, we have seen major growth in purchase mortgage searches, with volumes up 27.97% compared to September 2023.
“We have also seen 12.52% growth year on year for first-time buyer mortgage searches.
“September was a busier market than August, driven in no small part by the remortgage searches and particularly in the BTL market.
“The second half of the month saw increased numbers of ESIS documents prepared, setting new records – four of the seven busiest ever days.”
He added: “We also saw the 100 millionth mortgage search on the platform, an incredible result in the ten years since we began business.
“Products variants hit a new high – we now have more choice in the mortgage products market than ever previously available.”
