In the week ending 17 May, the volume of mortgage searches rose 42.76% compared with four weeks previous, and 18.39% compared with two weeks ago, according to technology solutions provider Twenty7Tec.
Mortgage searches also rose 27.46% on the week before alone, according to the data from Twenty7Tec, although this is influenced by the bank holiday on 8 May.
The volume of European Standardised Information Sheets (ESIS) prepared in the week ending 17 May was up 25.65% on the previous week, 8.42% on two weeks ago and 29.63% on four weeks ago.
The total value of loans prepared as ESIS documents in that week was 25.05% higher than the previous week, 7.74% higher than the week before that, and 32.46% higher than four weeks previous.
Purchase mortgages, which normally represent 55% to 60% of the market, they represented 40.07% in the week ending 17 May, versus remortgages at 59.93%
This proportion of purchase mortgages is up significantly from recent lows of 24.5%.
Twenty7Tec also found that searches for purchase mortgages for the week up to 17 May were up 57.45% compared to the week before.
They were also up 49.38% on two weeks prior, and 109.54% on four weeks prior.
The volume of searches for purchase mortgages has now reached around 44.60% of pre-COVID-19 levels.
Weekly searches for remortgages to 17 May were up 13.07% on the prior week, 3.96% compared to two weeks previous, and 17.69% compared to four weeks prior.
Buy-to-let (BTL) has a long-term average of 19.78% of searches; currently, its share is at 22.59%.
BTL reached a high of 26.74% of all mortgage searches at the end of April.
James Tucker, CEO of 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 [pent 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 [in terms of purchases versus 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.”
