Mortgage searches exceeded one million for the first time since lockdown began, according to data from Twenty7Tec as the property market bounced back.
Figures from the mortgage technology provider showed mortgage searches reached 1,174,659 in June, up from 683,078 in May.
| Purchase | Remortgage | Searches | |
| June searches | 749,423 | 425,236 | 1,174,659 |
| May searches | 324,676 | 358,402 | 683,078 |
Searches for purchase mortgages made up the majority of activity last month at 63.8 per cent, while remortgage searches accounted for the remaining 36.19 per cent.
This marked a contrast from May, when remortgage searches constituted the majority of searches at 52.47 per cent, with purchase searches making up the remainder (47.53 per cent).
To find out more about how we can assist you with your Mortgage requirements, please click here to get in touch
Estimated HM Revenue & Customs figures for May showed a 50 per cent drop in the number of residential property transactions year-on-year.
The property market was effectively closed for seven weeks during lockdown until May 13, when the government published guidance whereby anyone in England could move home again.
Phil Bailey, sales director at Twenty7Tec, said: “Remortgages were almost the only game in town during lockdown, at one point representing 75 per cent of the total mortgage searches”.
The data also showed a “mismatch” between the demand and supply of high loan-to-value mortgages. One in six (16.4 per cent) of all searches were for products at 90 and 95 per cent LTV, which made up only 2.5 per cent of the market in June.
Last month lenders temporarily withdrew products at 90 per cent LTV to protect service after high demand.
Some have resumed lending at 90 per cent LTV, albeit with a limited offering. Accord Mortgages relaunched with two five-year fixed deals in the week after its withdrawal, but exclusively to first-time buyers.
Commenting on the difference between demand and supply of high LTV mortgages, Mr Bailey said: “That’s going to prove tempting to some lenders who are willing to write business and take a risk.
“Perhaps it will be late summer until the furlough schemes are withdrawn and a clearer economic picture becomes available, but it will happen.”
By Chloe Cheung
Source: FT Adviser