Twenty7Tec has published data on the state of the mortgage market one week after the second English lockdown began.
Weekly mortgage search volumes are currently at 87.79% of the year’s highest figure, up 6.8% on the week before.
Search volumes for buy-to-let mortgage are at 92.09% of the year’s high, up 8.0% on last week, while Weekly residential mortgage search volumes are at 87.56% of the year’s high, up 6.8% on last week.
Meanwhile, weekly mortgage ESIS documentation figures are currently at 91.42% of the year’s highest figure, up 7.5% on the week before.
Weekly buy-to-let mortgage ESIS documentation figures are currently at 89.75% of the year’s highest figure, up 7.8% on the week before and residential mortgage ESIS documentation figures are currently at 90.13% of the year’s highest figure, up 7.4% on the week before.
James Tucker, CEO of Twenty7Tec, said: “Each time we go into a lockdown, regional or national, there is a drop-off in the volume of mortgage searches that takes place, and also a drop-off in the number of ESIS documents prepared. The dip in volumes actually happens in the few days before the lockdown begins as customers focus on dealing with the practical elements of a lockdown.
“Then, immediately as the lockdown starts, mortgage search volumes begin to rise again. We’ve seen it again and again this year on a UK-wide, home nation and regional level before and just after we enter lockdown. Any drop is then is consistently mirrored by a spike of mortgage search volumes within a day or two of the lockdown beginning.
“There was a definite blip in activity last week as people mentally prepared for lockdown 2.0. For context, last week’s drops were less than we’d expect in a bank holiday week. In lockdown 2.0, we are still seeing search volumes higher than we did in pre-lockdown Spring. That feels like a world away now, but was, at the time, incredibly busy for all our clients.
“Buy-to-let currently forms 19.11% of all searches in the past week and 20.87% of all documents prepared against in the past week. buy-to-let searches volumes have been relatively steady all year and those searches are converted into ESIS documents more often than residential searches.”