Mortgage searches elevated to 1,675,984 in September, in contrast with 1,558,230 in August, Twenty7tec information reveals.
The newest figures present searches are up general by 1.51% yr on yr and seven.56% month on month.
While Twenty7tec says it seems to be like a market in restoration, it’s clear that progress is being fuelled virtually totally by remortgaging.
Remortgage searches climbed sharply to 820,429, a double-digit rise of 10.70% in August and up 14.59% in contrast with September 2024.
Nearly half of all exercise (48.95%) was centered on remortgaging, up from 43.37% this time final yr.
The residential market accounted for 610,022 of those searches, a rise of 15.22% yr on yr, whereas buy-to-let (BTL) remortgages grew by 12.81% over the identical interval.
Elsewhere, non-first-time purchaser residential purchases totalled 547,859, falling 8.63% in comparison with a yr earlier, regardless of a month-to-month elevate of 5.94%.
First-time consumers noticed solely a slight month-to-month enchancment of two.57%, however are down 7.63% yr on yr, with their share of general exercise slipping from 19.24% in August to 18.36% in September.
BTL exercise additionally displays this break up with whole BTL searches reached 308,434, a rise of 4.04% on final yr.
While remortgaging is powerful on this phase, purchases are sharply down at 98,130 in September, 10.82% decrease than in September 2024.
Data additionally discovered that long-term fixes are collapsing in recognition, with six-to-10 yr merchandise making up simply 12.32% of the market.
It reveals that that is the bottom ever recorded, and practically half the 23.72% seen in September 2024.
Twenty7tec says the autumn suggests debtors are reluctant to lock themselves in at present charges, as an alternative playing on a extra beneficial outlook within the subsequent few years.
Twenty7tec head of lender Nakita Moss says: “September’s numbers should be learn fastidiously. Yes, general exercise is up, however it’s being propped up by remortgaging. That just isn’t new confidence – it’s folks enjoying protected, making defensive strikes to safe their family funds.”
“Purchases, and first-time purchaser demand particularly, stay weak, and that may be a concern for the long-term well being of the market. The collapse in lengthy fixes reveals how sceptical debtors are that present charges characterize good worth. What we’re seeing is resilience, not restoration.”
