According to paaleads.com’s data, May saw 24% more consumers seeking advice for mortgage purchases on moneysupermarket.com, compared to April’s data. Similarly, remortgage leads saw an increase of 19%, highlighting that the consumers’ appetite to buy is well and truly back in the mortgage market. The data comes fresh after Nationwide announced that property prices are now only 10% below the 2007 peak.
This upswing is a stark contrast to the doldrums of February 2010 when data revealed that appetite for mortgages had plummeted. As consumers awaited results from the Budget, both remortgages and purchase mortgage enquiries saw a decrease of 26% and 15% respectively. Having been 10 weeks since the former chancellor, Alistair Darling, announced that stamp duty would be dropped on homes under £250,000, it appears that consumers are now regaining some level of confidence.
Commenting on these findings, Dean Jones, head of paaleads.com said: “To see such a movement in one month is very encouraging from a market perspective, and having seen consumers flock to moneysupermarket.com to compare mortgages, we are now seeing this uplift shift to the advice side.
“That remortgage levels are still relatively low is testament to that fact that there is still some way to go before the market could be said to be ‘on the up’ as a whole, but brokers can take some comfort from the increase in consumers who appear to be taking their first steps on the property ladder. One reason for this uplift may be that consumers are looking to fix their rate before the outcome of emergency budget.”
