This compares to an 11.6% rise in applications in March compared to February.
Mortgage applications in April were just 0.1% down on April 2010. There was a slight fall in the number of new borrowers choosing fixed-rate products. More than three quarters (76%) of all mortgage applications in April were still for fixed-rate deals, compared to 80% in March. This compares to just 52% of new mortgage applicants in April 2010 choosing fixed rate products.
The average loan size on mortgage applications in April was £124,328 compared to £127,546 in March, a decrease of 2.5%.
The average LTV on mortgage applications rose slightly to 70.5% in April from 69.9% in March, and the average deposit put down by a mortgage applicant in April was £52,024 compared to £54,923 in March.
The average age of a mortgage applicant in the UK in April was 38 years.
Remortgage applications continued to drop off in April, falling for the second consecutive month, down a substantial 26.7% compared to the number of remortgage applications made in March. However, remortgage applications in April were still up 19.5% on applications made in April 2010.
Brian Murphy, head of lending, independent mortgage broker Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “April mortgage activity has been significantly curtailed due to the bunching of the four public holidays.
“The timing of this year’s Easter break combined with the additional public holiday for the Royal Wedding and the May bank holiday saw business activity grind to a halt across the UK.
“During the first three weeks of April, mortgage activity was generally running at the levels experienced in March and February, but from 22nd April the market largely went into hibernation.
“Following the announcement of Q1’s fairly anaemic growth (GDP) figures and an unexpected fall in Consumer Price Inflation, the majority of economic forecasters are now suggesting that any rise in the bank base rate is likely to be held off until August. As a consequence the number of borrowers remortgaging slipped from recent monthly activity levels – although numbers still remain significantly above the corresponding period in 2010 suggesting that more people feel rate rises are on the way. Not surprisingly, of those who are refinancing, more than two thirds are continuing to opt for the certainty of fixed rates.
“Mortgage product availability improved further in April, and the number of deals available now is more than 20% above what brokers typically had access to at the beginning of this year, and more than 50% up on the same period twelve months ago.
“Although borrower activity levels waned in the latter part of the month we witnessed quite a flurry of lenders repricing their products and this should ensure that those borrowers who are now re- engaging the market have both more choice and greater competition for their business.”
