There has been a huge rise in the number of people looking for mortgage advice online this month. Normally, January experiences the biggest surge, as people resolve over Christmas to move house or remortgage to get their finances in order, but February has seen a 17% rise, over and above the 61% increase that we had in January.
Across the whole country, every region saw at least 13% more borrowers ask for advice, and the North East experienced 22% more. Brokers in the North West and Scotland also had access to over 19% more potential clients.
In many regions, the amounts that these people wanted to borrow also increased. At first glance the picture can seem contradictory, as although all but three regions experienced a rise in the amounts that people wanted to borrow, the average for the country as a whole actually dropped by 0.57%.
This contradiction was due to a 5% fall in borrowing amounts in London. Requested mortgage sizes in London are far in excess of the rest of the country with the average requested mortgage standing at £207,000, compared to Scotland and Wales, for example, which both have an average requested mortgage size of just £107,000 – £100,000 less than London.
The other two regions to experience a decrease in the amount people wanted to borrow were Northern Ireland and the North West. Northern Ireland saw a drop of 3.5% from £112,000 in January to £108,000 in February, while the North West saw a much smaller decrease of 2% from £110,000 also to £108,000.
Therefore, while the average requested borrowing for the whole of the UK was £133,000 this month, it is interesting that if you take out the figures for London, we get a much more realistic UK average of £117,700.
With a rise in the number of borrowers asking for advice, normally there is a dip in lead price as there are more potential new clients than advisers can handle at any given time, but this year there has been a corresponding rise in adviser activity. This seems to follow on from the slight easing in lender criteria and also seems to reflect a general rise in confidence that things are going to get better this year.
So while the increase in lead price is only a small one of a couple of pounds, it is a positive sign that sentiment in our market is picking up, in marked contrast to this time last year.
The most popular areas to look for mortgage advice online remain the North East, the Midlands, Anglia and the North West; the North East and the Midlands both provided more than 13% of all leads while Anglia and the North West had over 11% each.
In total, it has been a very positive month. While things are not rebounding in the trampoline manner talked about at the pre-Budget report last November, there appears to be a gradual growth in confidence both from borrowers and advisers which looks like it is set to continue into the next couple of months.
Grant Stevens is managing director of Leadbay
Scotland
Av. mortgage: £107,467
Av. lead price: £10.98
Lead count: 8.06%
N. Ireland
Av. mortgage: £108,377
Av. lead price: £10.07
Lead count: 2.05%
North East
Av. mortgage: £105,761
Av. lead price: £12.36
Lead count: 13.62%
Wales
Av. mortgage: £107,383
Av. lead price: £11.23
Lead count: 4.92%
Midlands
Av. mortgage: £114,182
Av. lead price: £12.89
Lead count: 13.07%
North West
Av. mortgage: £108,312
Av. lead price: £11.45
Lead count: 11.54%
Anglia
Av. mortgage: £143,540
Av. lead price: £11.54
Lead count: 11.68%
South Central
Av. mortgage: £161,679
Av. lead price: £12.09
Lead count: 9.88%
South West
Av. mortgage: £136,645
Av. lead price: £11.69
Lead count: 8.83%
South East
Av. mortgage: £164,855
Av. lead price: £11.81
Lead count: 9.09%
London
Av. mortgage: £206,944
Av. lead price: £11.15
Lead count: 7.28%
