Twenty7tec reveals a notable increase in mortgage searches for October 2024, reflecting a strong market movement.
- Purchase mortgage searches rose by 2.9% from the previous month, highlighting increased buyer activity.
- Remortgage searches also saw a slight uptick, with a 1.4% growth in October.
- Buy-to-let mortgage searches showed a varied response, with purchases up but remortgages flatlining.
- First-time buyer searches surged by over 5%, indicating heightened market interest.
In October 2024, Twenty7tec’s data indicated a significant rise in mortgage searches, particularly in purchase mortgages, which increased by 2.9% from September 2024. This growth suggests a robust market with heightened buyer activity and interest, a crucial factor as we approach the year’s end.
Remortgage searches, while not as pronounced as purchase inquiries, still saw a 1.4% rise. This increase might reflect homeowners’ desires to capitalise on the current rates before potential future economic shifts.
Buy-to-let searches presented a mixed picture. Purchase searches in this domain were up 3.0%, yet remortgage searches remained unchanged, perhaps indicating a stable yet cautious investment atmosphere within the landlord community.
There was a significant increase in interest from first-time buyers, with searches climbing by 5.38%. This uptick underscores a growing confidence or urgency among new entrants to the housing market, who may be seeking to secure favourable terms amid evolving market conditions.
Comparing year-on-year data, purchase mortgage searches have risen dramatically by 23.69%, showcasing the market’s evolution and increased demand compared to October 2023. Similarly, buy-to-let purchase searches rose by 18.37%, while residential purchase searches shot up by 26.01%, reflecting substantial year-on-year growth.
Fixed mortgage products also displayed interesting trends. Two-year fixed mortgages made up 40.51% of searches, a decrease from last year’s 46.22%. However, longer-term fixed products saw an increase, with 3-5 year products rising to 35.18% of searches, and 5-10 year products growing to 24.31%. Such shifts may indicate a preference for longer-term stability amidst economic uncertainty.
Nathan Reilly of Twenty7tec commented on the split in market activity within October. The first half of the month was characterised by record product availability, whereas the latter half saw a drop in the preparation of ESIS documents as stakeholders awaited the Budget and the Bank of England’s rate decision. Notably, none of the days in late October ranked among the busiest of the year.
Additionally, the number of available products reduced by 1.93% by the end of October, marking the first decline since June 2023. Reilly highlighted that this adjustment points towards a narrowing gap between purchase and remortgage documentation, moving from July’s peak differential of 57.5:52.5 to a current rate of 55:45.
Reilly further projected that the total number of mortgage searches for 2024 is on track to surpass the 2023 total, setting the stage for potentially record-breaking outcomes by year’s end.
The mortgage market demonstrated substantial growth in October, setting the stage for a strong finish to 2024.
