Purchase Mortgage Searches Increase By 109% In 4 Weeks

Purchase Mortgage Searches Increase By 109% In 4 Weeks

Over the past four weeks, the number of searches for purchase mortgages has increased by 109 per cent as the reopening of the property market stimulates buying and selling.

According to mortgage data from Twenty7Tec, both weekly and daily figures have increased significantly. Daily figures for mortgage searches have increased by a fifth (22.36 per cent) on the previous week, 61.11 per cent on two weeks ago and 82.53 per cent on a month ago.

The volume of ESIS documents prepared on a daily basis rose by 28.83 per cent on the previous week, 28.36 per cent on a fortnight earlier and 51.5 per cent on the figures from a month ago.

On a weekly comparison, the mortgage market is continuing to grow now the market is out of lockdown.

By the week ending May 17th, the volume of searches had increased by 28.46 per cent, 18.39 per cent and 42.76 per cent on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis respectively.

The most recent data set indicates that the recovery has been largely attributed to the rise in purchase mortgages. Just two weeks ago, purchase mortgages searches made up just a quarter of the market. Now, this figure has increased to 40.07 per cent on a weekly basis.

On May 17 alone, 58.85 per cent of all searches were for purchase mortgages.

James Tucker, CEO of mortgage technology provider Twenty7Tec says:

“Yesterday was the busiest Sunday in weeks and the whole weekend has gone well for the mortgage industry. We are starting to see significant volumes return to the market – with searches for purchase mortgages in particular rapidly gaining pace. Searches for purchases are now at 44% of pre-lockdown highs, up from lows of 15.6% in mid April. Purchase search volumes has tripled since that low point.

“It’s hard to overstate the effect that last week’s reopening announcement has had on the market. It’s the first week that we have ever seen where activity on the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday all outperformed the Monday and Tuesday.

“Of course, we’ll see how this pans out this week and, come Wednesday, will be able to see the results of the first full week of the Jenrick effect. Is this just prior pet up demand or is it a sustainable growth based also on new business? Time and data will tell us.

“This weekend, for the first time since lockdown, purchase searches overtook remortgages searches. It’s possible that we’ll see the weekly figures reach parity (purchase v remortgages) this week.

“Remortgage volumes will be interesting to watch this week. Last week’s figures were pretty much flat when you allow for the prior week’s bank holiday. Remortgage volumes have held up comparatively well over the lockdown period – never dipping below 55% of pre-lockdown highs. The peak for remortgage volumes actually came two days after the Government announced lockdown.

“The end of the first mortgage holidays is on the horizon – technically, a month from today for those who moved quickly. This will be on the minds of lenders who want to be able to price remortgages accurately. The greater clarity the market has over the future of the mortgage holidays arrangement, the greater we will all serve our customers.”

Martin Parrin

Martin is a Senior Content Writer for Today’s Conveyancer, Today’s Wills and Probate, Today’s Legal Cyber Risk and Today's Family Lawyer Having qualified as a teacher, Martin previously worked as a Secondary English Teacher that responsible for Head of Communications. After recently returning to the North West from Guernsey in the Channel Islands, Martin has left teaching to start a career in writing and pursue his lifelong passion with the written word.

1 Comment

  • Records must be kept to show the number and cost of abortive transactions during the unlocking

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