November saw a decline in mortgage search activity compared to October 2024, latest statistics from Twenty7tec reveal.
Purchase mortgage searches dropped by 11.1%, while remortgage searches fell by 8.6%.
Buy-to-let (BTL) purchase mortgage searches experienced a sharper decline of 14.6%, with BTL remortgages down by 6.5%.
Residential purchase and remortgage searches fell by 11.3% and 8.6%, respectively. First-time buyer searches also saw a 9.2% decline.
MIXED YEAR
Comparing November 2024 to the same period in 2023, the data presents a more nuanced picture. Purchase mortgage searches were up 10.39%, and residential purchase searches rose 12.36%.
However, remortgage searches declined significantly, down 14.05% overall and 18.42% for residential properties. BTL purchase searches were relatively flat, increasing just 0.04%, while BTL remortgage searches dipped slightly by 0.01%. First-time buyer searches rose marginally, up 0.45%.
SHIFTING PREFERENCES
Searches for fixed mortgage products highlighted a shift in borrower preferences – 2-year fixed mortgages accounted for 40.51% of all fixed product searches, down from 47.54% in November 2023.
Meanwhile, 3- to 5-year fixed product searches increased to 35.51%, compared to 32.91% the previous year. But 5- to 10-year fixed mortgages saw the most notable growth, now representing 23.45% of fixed product searches, up from 19.55%.
ACTIVITY TRENDS
The combined October and November periods of 2024 were the busiest ever for mortgage searches, surpassing previous records from 2023 and 2022 by 5.87% and 2.70%, respectively.
Purchase mortgage searches during this time reached a record 1,826,590, up 17.1% year-on-year. However, remortgage searches fell by 5.84% compared to 2023.
Buy-to-let activity showed mixed results. BTL purchase searches were the fourth busiest on record, reaching 89.1% of the 2022 peak. BTL remortgages saw a modest increase of 4.7% compared to 2023 but remained 4.55% below 2022 levels.
First-time buyer purchases set a new record during this period, with 508,772 searches—a rise of 5.24% compared to 2023 and 5.06% versus 2022.
BROADER CONTEXT
Nathan Reilly, Director at Twenty7tec, says: “Although activity dipped in November, we reached a milestone on November 28, when year-to-date totals surpassed all of 2023’s mortgage searches.
“The market continues to show resilience, even as first-time buyer searches remain down by over 100,000 compared to last year.”
TECHNOLOGY BOOST
He adds: “Over the past three months, our APPLY system saw a 29% increase in usage, far outpacing the market’s 14% growth in ESIS applications. This shift demonstrates how technology is transforming the way brokers and clients interact with mortgage products.”
He also notes record-breaking activity among self-employed borrowers, with 2024 already surpassing 2023’s total by 1.97%. Every month this year has seen over 100,000 searches for self-employed mortgages, a first in the market’s history.
And he says: “The late December decision will likely shape early 2025 momentum. After a strong start in 2024, it remains to be seen whether next year will follow suit.”
