The lender also said that the popularity of fixed rates had see-sawed as SWAP rates fluctuated and that brokers should concentrate on the 300,000 borrowers who were coming off cheap two-year fixes.
Duncan Pownall, mortgage development manager at Bradford & Bingley, said: “The mortgage market has had a fairly quiet first quarter as expected in the traditionally slow winter months, and perhaps looks quieter compared to the unusually high levels of lending transacted at the same time last year.
“A pick-up in activity in the spring, however, is on the cards, though at more normal levels than last year.
“First-time buyer numbers continued to be weak — hovering around the 30 per cent mark as a proportion of total lending, according to the CML.
“While the Chancellor, in his Budget statement, has given some would-be howeowners a boost by raising the stamp duty threshold, there are still large numbers, particularly in the South, that will continue to struggle.”
He added: “Despite speculation, the Bank of England base rate has so far remained unchanged at 4.75 per cent.
“Indeed, while a quarter point rise in the near future cannot be completely discounted, we believe the current rate probably represents the peak of this interest rate cycle.
“SWAP rates have been on the move — two-year money starting the year at 4.85 per cent and finishing the quarter at 5.15 per cent. This obviously had a knock-on effect on fixed rates, causing them to rise.
“With SWAPs now edging down, however, (currently around the 5 per cent mark) fixed rate pricing is likely to follow suit.
“As predicted, house prices have stabilised and so a material drop in house prices, as speculated by some, is now extremely unlikely.”
