Searches for properties over £1 million registers biggest drop
Excluding December, which always has a low number of searches, April 2022 had the fewest monthly mortgage searches since October 2021, tech provider Twenty7Tec has revealed.
Citing findings based on its mortgage platform data, Twenty7Tec noted that the biggest fall in mortgage searches occurred for properties valued at over £1 million, a 16% drop from figures of the previous month.
The mortgage technology provider also reported a 20% and a 25.5% drop in buy-to-let mortgage searches and remortgage searches, respectively, in April.
It was also the first month where there were fewer mortgage products on the market at month end than the prior month end since October 2020.
The month also saw a 20% drop in fixed mortgage searches compared to the month prior. March 2022 was the high point for fixed mortgages since Twenty7Tec began reporting figures publicly in January 2020.
James Tucker, founder and chief executive officer of Twenty7Tec, said that it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons why mortgage searches were fewer last month.
“It’s hard to determine if the changes we’ve seen in the market are due to a change in confidence, economic outlook, the Bank of England rate change, or simply down to April having fewer working days and everyone needing a well-earned break. The next few days for the market are going to be very instructive,” Tucker said.
