"The pause has certainly raised a few eyebrows, with many advisers expecting recent rate stability to boost borrower confidence. In fact, we are seeing the opposite"
- Nakita Moss - Twenty7Tec
Buyers held back on mortgage searches last week despite the Bank of England’s decision to keep the base rate unchanged, surprising many in the industry who had anticipated more activity.
Figures from Twenty7Tec showed that activity dropped across most categories, counter to predictions that stable rates would improve borrower sentiment.
Standard residential searches, which account for more than 70% of total mortgage searches, fell 9.4% compared with the seven-day average. This meant 50,500 searches were recorded against 55,714 the week before.
Remortgage activity saw the sharpest decline, down 12.7% compared with the weekly average. First-time buyer searches also slipped significantly, falling 10.2%. Analysts noted that affordability concerns, shifting rate expectations, and uncertainty ahead of the upcoming budget were weighing on demand from new entrants to the housing market.
Buy-to-let searches were broadly stable at 13,632, almost unchanged from the average of 13,717. This gave landlords a bigger share of the market at 19.8%, up from 16.8% in August.
“The pause has certainly raised a few eyebrows, with many advisers expecting recent rate stability to boost borrower confidence. In fact, we are seeing the opposite,” explained Nakita Moss, head of lender at Twenty7Tec. “Standard residential searches fell 9.4%, with first-time buyer searches down even more sharply at 10.2%. Remortgage activity saw the largest drop, falling 12.7%, which suggests some homeowners are holding off refinancing in the hope that a future rate cut will improve affordability.”
Moss added that landlord activity appeared steadier than the rest of the market. “By contrast, buy-to-let searches were effectively flat, which is remarkable given the headwinds landlords have faced in recent months. Their share of the market is slightly higher than the seven-day average, showing that many are taking a long-term view and are less reactive to short-term rate decisions.”
Looking ahead, Moss suggested that demand was likely to return. “This looks like a market taking a breath rather than retreating. We expect a rebound in both residential and remortgage searches as pent-up demand is released, and advisers need to be prepared to have the data at their fingertips to give their clients the best options.”
