Remortgaging made up nearly half of all mortgage searches in September, according to figures from Twenty7tec.
Out of 1,675,984 total mortgage searches, 48.95% were for remortgages.
This was up from 43.37% a year earlier, with remortgage searches rising 14.59% year on year to 820,429.
Residential remortgage searches hit 610,022, up 15.22% on last year, while buy-to-let (BTL) remortgaging went up 12.81%.
Purchase activity stayed subdued.
Non-first-time buyer (FTB) residential purchases fell 8.63% on last year to 547,859, and first-time buyer searches were down 7.63% year on year.
FTBs share of activity slipped from 19.24% in August to 18.36% in September.
In BTL, remortgage searches remained strong, but purchases dropped 10.82% to 98,130 over the year.
Total BTL searches rose by 4.04% to 308,434.
6-10 year fixes made up just 12.32% of the market, the lowest recorded, and down from 23.72% a year ago.
Nakita Moss (pictured), head of lender at Twenty7tec, said: “September’s numbers need to be read carefully. Yes, overall activity is up, but it is being propped up by remortgaging.
“That is not new confidence – it is people playing safe, making defensive moves to secure their household finances.
“Purchases, and first-time buyer demand in particular, remain weak, and that is a concern for the long-term health of the market.”
Moss added: “The collapse in long fixes shows how sceptical borrowers are that current rates represent good value. What we are seeing is resilience, not recovery.”
Nathan Reilly, commercial director at Twenty7tec, said: “Advisers are now operating in a market where remortgaging is dominant and first-time buyers are under real strain.
“This is where good CRM systems and proactive client engagement become essential. Advisers cannot wait for clients to come to them.
“They need to be running their books, using data to identify who is approaching the end of their term, and starting conversations early.”
Reilly added: “At the same time, they should be preparing first-time buyers with realistic affordability scenarios and supporting them through a tougher journey to purchase.
“The advisers who use technology to anticipate needs rather than react to them will be the ones who add the most value in this market.”
