Record demand for mortgages ahead of rate rises

The number of buyers and home owners searching for a mortgage hit a record high in March, according to analysis by Twenty7Tec, a mortgage data firm. It recorded almost 1.6m mortgage searches last month, 60,000 more than at the time of the original stamp duty tax break deadline in March 2021. Almost 60% of borrowers searching for a loan were buyers, while the remainder were remortgaging. Nathan Reilly, of Twenty7Tec, said: "Inflation-driven rate rises are driving remortgage search volumes higher than predicted at the start of the year... Even the purchase market remains buoyant in the face of wider macro economic uncertainty." Mortgage searches grew fastest in the £250,000 to £500,000 range in March, up 14.6% month-on-month, according to Twenty7Tec. But house price inflation has meant more demand for mortgages to buy properties priced at £1m and above. Almost one in 20 mortgage searches is now for a house valued above £1m. 

The Daily Telegraph (09/04/2022)