The amount that people want to borrow on their mortgage in July dropped by more than £3,000 to £134,600, equating to 2.5% decrease, reducing requested mortgage amounts down to the levels they were at in April.

This downturn was reflected across every region of the UK other than in London – which saw a 2.7% increase in requested mortgage amounts – and also the wider South Central area where amounts increased by a marginal one percent.

To put the borrowing in perspective, average amounts this July still exceed those of a year ago when the average mortgage requested was £133,500 – £1100 or just under 1% lower than it is this year.

The number of borrowers turning to the internet for advice increased by a significant 3.25% this month, that is over 5000 borrowers a month more than this time last year and almost 10,000 more than in 2007.

This is all the more interesting because the number of borrowers usually falls in July and August as people go on holiday. This could indicate that either borrowers are taking fewer holidays this year, or that their mortgage rate is of a much greater concern to them now.

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In terms of geographic split, the Midlands yielded the most enquiries this month. This region is consistently growing in terms of lead numbers, so this is a good region to target if you are not already doing so.

The North East is as popular as ever, with the second highest number of enquiries coming from here, closely followed by Anglia and the North West. The biggest increases were in Wales, which saw 11.5% more borrowers than last month, and Northern Ireland with 10% more. The only region to see a dip in borrower numbers was London however, with an average borrowing amount of £207,500 those who were borrowing outstripped the rest of the country by some margin.

Average lead prices have dropped a little again this month; this is consistent with a surge in enquiries, because, as supply grows and advisers take all the new business they need, the price drops on the remainder of the leads, lowering the average. What it does mean is that leads are incredibly good value at the moment, at 11% less than they were last month and more than 100% cheaper than they were a year ago.

The only region to see a slight increase in lead price, although the lead price was still below average, is South Central region, which could reflect the higher demand for new clients because of the rise in borrowing amounts here.

Overall, the number of borrowers has risen considerably, with a knock-on downward effect on lead prices which means that your return is likely to be higher than it has been for some time. Expect the number of borrowers to drop a little next month as the holiday season really takes effect. In terms of borrowing amounts for next month – it’s anybody’s guess! Recently people have asked for more money when they could be expected to have asked for less, and now they ask for less as things start to pick up a little. My guess is that requested borrowing amounts will stay lower for August and then creep up again in September.