According to Legal and General Mortgage Club, enquiries for mortgages allowing furlough incomes more than trebled from December to January, and was the most searched for term on its SmartrCriteria tool last month.
The 230 per cent rise followed a similar rise in November, the mortgage club said.
The top five searches also revealed the impact of Brexit as searches about borrower visa requirements took the second spot as the trading agreement with the EU was implemented.
Demand from first-time buyers and first-time landlords remained high, as did options for borrowers with satisfied defaults – potentially another result of the pandemic hitting people’s finances.
Busiest month
Legal and General Mortgage Club said January was the tool’s busiest month in its two years since launching as searches increased by 69 per cent on December.
It did not give an exact number for the searches made but said it was in the “tens of thousands”, with residential products making up 76 per cent of the overall total.
Legal & General Mortgage Club head of mortgage transformation and operations Clare Beardmore said the latest data painted a promising picture for the mortgage market.
“Clearly, many people are continuing to press ahead with their homeownership ambitions and in many cases advisers are successfully matching them with the mortgage products they need to step onto and up the property ladder,” she said.
“However, while the total volume of activity rose in January, we’re continuing to see strong demand among consumers for furlough friendly mortgage products.
“While this isn’t altogether surprising given the effects of lockdowns over the past year, it’s yet another sign that thousands more borrowers with complex circumstances will need the support of advisers to help them find suitable mortgage options in the months ahead.”
