Purchase mortgage searches were down 8.0% in May 2024 compared with April, but up 7.16% on May 2023, Twenty7tec’s mortgage market statistics for May have revealed.
Remortgage searches were down 25.24% compared to April, while buy-to-let (BTL) purchase mortgage searches were down 7.15% throughout the month.
BTL remortgage searches were down 18.55% in May compared to the month prior, and down 6.13% compared to May 2023.
Residential purchase mortgage searches were down 8.37%, but up 7.80% compared to May 2023, while residential remortgage searches were down 29.21% compared to April, but up 3.32% compared to 12 months ago.
Searches by first-time buyers (FTBs) fell by 2.86%, while 2-year fixed mortgages accounted for 45.63% of all fixed product searches.
Nathan Reilly, director at Twenty7tec, said: “May 2024 saw lower activity levels due to a combination of two bank holidays, a Bank of England decision that deterred remortgages, a General Election announcement and maybe poorer weather that normally encourages a stronger May performance.
“But looking at the broader picture, 2024 has been an incredibly hot market for mortgage searches YTD – up one million searches on our systems compared to the same period last year.
“Lenders also have confidence in the market with more products available than ever before. We also have more products with max LTVs of 95%, 85%, 80% and 75% than ever before.
“Finally, fixed mortgage search volumes are now running at 111.46% of their long-term monthly average, as the market drifts away from two year deals to five and even longer-term deals. Buyers increasingly want price certainty, it would seem.”
